The Shinigami Child
by Angel's Angel
Summary: Sequel to 'The Unknown Child'   As Yuki is now no longer human, she is brought to Soul Society to learn the ways of a shinigami. Through her friends, she is going to learn new things as she grows to become a full-fledged shinigami
1. Chapter 1

_**This story is the sequel to 'The Unknown Child'**_

_**I do not own Bleach!**_

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><p><em><strong>The Shinigami Child -1-<strong>_

After leaving Ichigo behind, Yuki kept on holding onto Byakuya's hand as she tried to wipe her tears using her other hand. Yuki then turned to her uncle when Byakuya suddenly took a halt and realized that they had stepped out from the Senkaimon and into Seiteirei. When Yuki wanted to open her mouth, her throat clogged up and she quickly closed her mouth, afraid of letting her sobs heard by the three other shinigamis next to her. Yuki then decided to stare at the ground before she felt her hand being tugged forward and the girl followed again, not even lifting her head upward. Yuki then panicked when she felt the hand she is holding unto slipped out from her own before another hand was placed unto her shoulder. Yuki lifted her head and saw that Rukia is currently kneeling in front of her, casting her worried eyes unto her tear-stricken ones.

"Yuki."

"Yes, Rukia nee." Rukia seemed to be surprised at how faint Yuki sounded, but Rukia understood that it might have been because Yuki is still hurt from leaving her cousins behind. Even though it is hard, Rukia must accept it now, that the girl in front of her is no longer human, but a newborn shinigami.

"… It's nothing, come on, we're not that far from the Gotei 13."

"Yes, Rukia nee." Rukia and Renji both winced at how robotic and emotionless Yuki sounded as Byakuya stood on his ground, looking towards his almost broken niece, eyes unreadable. Yuki was waiting for one of them to move, so she could follow, but after a while, none of them moved and Yuki was about to open her mouth to ask before she felt her feet being lifted off the ground. Now Yuki is blinking at Rukia and Renji whose eyes widened at what happened before quickly following her. Yuki then realized why she is going backwards even though she isn't walking and she decided to wrap her arms around Byakuya's neck and bury her face on his shoulder as the 6th division captain carried his niece securely in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Byaku ji-chan." Yuki said, voice muffled by Byakuya's shihakushou.

"…" Yuki's grip unto Byakuya's shihakushou then tightened as Byakuya kept on walking in silence.

"I feel so bad… and it hurts…" Yuki tried to hold back her tears and sobs, afraid of wetting her uncle's precious shihakusho and scarf before she felt a hand patting her back.

"Rest, we are going to the 4th division." Yuki nodded against Byakuya's shoulder and closed her eyes, drifting off into unconsciousness.

'Kazeyomi…'

'Come, Yuki… I know you wanted to talk.'

After a while, Byakuya sensed Yuki's reiatsu slowly went down and knew that his niece had finally fallen asleep. Byakuya then slowly unwrapped Yuki's arms from his neck and adjusted her position so now Yuki's head is leaning against Byakuya's chest. Renji, seeing his captain adjusting Yuki's position in his arms, quickly went to his side.

"Taichou, if it's alright, I can carry Yuki for you." Byakuya only give Renji a sideway glance before moving forward towards the 4th division.

"There is no need." Renji then turned towards Rukia who shook her head at him. Renji then looked towards his captain's back as Byakuya carried the resting Yuki in his arms before shaking his head.

"Yuki… looks troubled."

"Of course she's troubled, idiot. She knew that she died, and now she has to leave Ichigo and his family behind, who wouldn't be troubled after that?"

"… You're right… but she looks as if there's something else to it…"

"Uruhara-san told me… that Yuki met her zanpakuto, and achieved bankai when she was having a fever. He told me that her being unable to control her powers is what made her feverish."

"Bankai? Are you serious, Rukia? Yuki did?"

"Yes, and perhaps, now she finally understood what has been happening around her. When I first met her, she was naïve, protected by Ichigo ever since her parents died protecting her. Ichigo and his sisters were afraid to lose her after everything, and Yuki started isolating herself from people aside from Ichigo's friends and family…"

"Yuki's mother… was taichou's younger sister who disappeared, right? I remember seeing a body that looks like him when we were sent to check on the sudden rise of Hollow in the real world… and the girl we met must have been a younger Yuki."

"And now that nii-sama has finally met with Yuki again, I'm sure, just like Ichigo, he wouldn't want her to go through everything again. Especially after last time she's here…" Renji and Rukia then looked up to the 4th division symbol and quickly stepped in to follow Byakuya before Unohana stepped forward from the crowd of healer shinigami towards Byakuya.

"Isane. Give Yuki-san a check to see if she's stable."

"Yes, taichou! Right away." Isane then stepped up and quickly deposited the weight in Byakuya's arms to her and quickly brought Yuki away.

"There is no need to worry, Kuchiki-taichou. I'm sure Yuki will be alright."

"… You have my thanks, Unohana-taichou." Unohana then smiled before turning towards Rukia.

"Kuchiki Rukia-san, why don't you report to Ukitake-taichou? I'm sure he's worried about where you've been."

"Right away, Unohana-taichou. I'll be going, nii-sama." Rukia said before she shunpo-ed out from the 4th division.

"Abarai-fukutaichou, I'm afraid I need you to go back to your division, as I am going to talk to Kuchiki-taichou."

"Y-Yes! Excuse me, taichou." Renji said before quickly doing what Unohana ordered him to do. Unohana then turned her back on Byakuya and started to walk as the 6th division captain followed the other.

"How was she before she got here, Kuchiki-taichou?"

"She was crying."

"I see… that was to be expected. She is strong, but too young to understand, and now everything has to fall on top of her, confusing her as well as making her afraid."

"…" Unohana then stepped inside the room Isane had brought Yuki in and the said vice-captain quickly bowed to her captain and Byakuya after pulling the blanket over Yuki's body.

"I believe she is stable now?"

"Yuki-chan is a bit unresponsive when I tried to wake her up, taichou. But yes, she is stable." Unohana then looked towards the sword at the bedside table and then back towards Yuki.

"It seemed that Yuki-san has a lot to say to her zanpakuto. Let her be, she needs to think everything over. Kuchiki-taichou, I'm afraid Yuki will have to stay here for a few days before you will be able to bring her to the Kuchiki manor." Byakuya then nodded and took a last glance to Yuki before leaving.

"Taichou, what should I do now? Do I need to prepare anything when Yuki-chan wakes up?"

"There is no need, Yuki-san will be just fine. I'm sure after a long talk with her zanpakuto, she will be feeling much better." Isane nodded, trusting her captain's words before excusing herself out from the room. Unohana approached Yuki's bed and placed her hand on Yuki's head.

"Be strong, Yuki. You have people who are waiting for you to come back."

Inside Yuki's inner-mind, she was shocked to see that it has changed. The last time she came here, there was only one willow tree standing in the meadow. But now, as she looks around the greenery, flower buds have appeared, there are even other small trees growing. Yuki was wondering what had happened before her zanpakuto has decided to make her appearance under the shadow of the huge willow tree that stood in the center. Yuki, after looking around and rubbing her eyes to make sure she's not hallucinating, quickly went over to Kazeyomi who invited her to sit next to her under the willow tree.

"What happened here, Kazeyomi…?"

"This, is your resolve, Yuki. You did this, after all, this meadow is what portrays your mind."

"I did this…?"

"Yes, the moment you made your mind about leaving Ichigo and his family behind, this happened. You swore to yourself that you would become stronger for them and for your friends."

"I… did this…"

"Believe in yourself, Yuki. You've been telling yourself that you wanted to start anew, haven't you? Then start now, you are no longer human, you are now a shinigami, you cannot brood about what has happened in the past. You cannot turn back time, all you needed to do now is to move on, grow stronger, so what happened will not happen again." Kazeyomi said, placing her gloved hand on Yuki's head. Yuki then reminisced about the past that had happened, when Byakuya brought her to Soul Society, her memories altered and buried, the betrayal of Aizen, the blood on Ichigo, ever since then, she made her mind about growing stronger and gaining knowledge so none of that could ever happened once again. Yuki then looked up to Kazeyomi with a smile and noticed something.

"… You're not wearing your covers…" Yuki said, staring at Kazeyomi's bare face. The zanpakuto then let out a laugh, shaking her head before turning towards the flowers, which had started to bloom. With her hand still on Yuki head, Kazeyomi turned gave Yuki a content smile.

_"It's time to wake up, Yuki. Byakuya-sama is waiting for you."_

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><p><em><strong>Come on guys! Give me review so I can continue this story! Please~!<strong>_

_**Thanks y'all for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is in!**

**I do not own Bleach, if I do... it won't be like it is now, that's for sure xD**

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><p><strong><em>The Shinigami Child -2-<em>**

Today is the 5th day since Unohana had told him that Yuki needed to stay here in one of the 4th division wards before he could take her back to the Kuchiki manor. Byakuya kept on watching as Yuki slept, her chest rise and fall with the every breath she took, inside, he was worried. Yuki had not opened her eyes even once after she's been brought her, and all Unohana told him is that she might need some time to think to herself as well as to talk to her zanpakuto. He was a bit surprised at that time when his niece appeared in her shihakushou and sword, last time he saw her, she doesn't even know how to wield a sword, all she had were her smiles and laugh.

She reminded him so much of her mother, of his younger sister, his little Miyuki. Her laugh, her smile, her eyes, her face, Byakuya could even say that she's the carbon copy of his Miyuki. He once felt proud that he did not see anything that does not belong to his Miyuki, but after a while, he realized, the invisible strength she had, the time when she had bravely refused Aizen and told the traitor that she belongs here, that those must be the traits of her father, the man that had made his Miyuki fall in love and run away from home. Even though Byakuya wanted so much to hate the man, he couldn't, because he was the man that had given the love Miyuki always wanted. He was the man that had made Miyuki abandoned everything she had in order to be with him, he was the man that had given her Yuki.

If Miyuki had never met the man, she might still be here with him, standing together as the Kuchiki nobles, with him still trying to blow her suitors off and her laughing at him when he come home after blowing those said suitors off with an annoyed face. If Miyuki had never met the man, he would have never met Yuki, he would have never met the little girl he is watching now, never knew what it is like to be an uncle, how to care for his young niece. Sure, he had Rukia, but Rukia had been a small adult when he found her, Yuki was still a small child who know nothing about the real world, she knew nothing about the world outside her family, outside the Kurosaki family and her friends, she had been living so happily with her life. And he had taken all of them away from her that day when he decided to make her forget about her life in the real world, and how he regretted his actions, Unohana kept telling him that he should know what he's doing, but what did he do? He brushed them off, saying that Yuki belonged with him even though she never do belong with him, she belongs with her family, with that ryoka. But even at her confused state, she believed everything he said to the roots, only started to doubt when she started having dream about ryoka. She had given him care and love as his niece, and even after she knew the truth, she still loves him as her uncle, even going as far as to forgive him for what he has done to the ryoka.

Byakuya then watch as Yuki kept on sleeping peacefully, oblivious to all the worries he has been doing. It's not normal for someone to sleep 5 days in a row without even opening their eyes for once, he was worried something might be wrong with his niece, but the 4th division captain told him that she is stable and there is nothing wrong with her, and what they need now is to wait for her until she's ready. He just couldn't wait for that long. Yuki was crying when we left that ryoka, she had not said anything to him when they went through the senkaimon. She responds, but does not do anything else aside from that. He was worried, especially when she burst out crying when Rukia went to talk to her after they had arrived in Soul Society. And after that he carried her in his arms, almost startled by how light she felt, and went to the 4th division. Byakuya then sighed and placed his hand on top on Yuki's forehead, brushing the strands of hair that was covering her eyes before leaving the room with disappointment once again.

It was barely minutes when the girl on the bed opened her eyes and sat on the bed. Yuki quickly masked her reiatsu, not wanting anyone to find out that she's awake as she got off from the bed and slowly walked out from the room, like a child that is looking for snacks.

'_Are you sure about this, Yuki? I don't think Unohana-taichou and Isane-fukutaichou will be very pleased after they found you…'_

"I made up my mind, and it's not like anyone would get mad at me." Yuki said as she held up a pair of sciccors.

'_Byakuya-sama would.'_ Yuki froze for a moment, thinking about what Kazeyomi said before shaking her head.

"Byaku jii-chan will understand… I need to move on, Kazeyomi. Didn't you say that yourself?"

'_Indeed I did… very well then, if this is what you wanted to do. I just hope you know what you're doing…'_

"Of course!" Yuki said as she stood in front of a mirror and cut a hack of her hair, letting the black strands flutter down to the ground. Kazeyomi then watch the event from Yuki's mind with a sigh. Well, a child is still a child, she thought before she turned towards the now colorful meadow.

'_Look at that, I guess I need to get used to all these colors.'_

Yuki then heard a gasp from behind her. Yuki noticed she kind of got distracted and got a slip of her reiatsu out and she turned around to see Isane staring in horror at what she just did to her hair.

"Yuki-chan! What do you think you're doing to your hair?" Yuki winced a bit when Isane took the scissors out of her hand and pushed her towards the room she is supposed to stay in.

"I wanted to start again as a shinigami… I wanted to start over… and I heard people do this…" Yuki watch as Isane sigh and shook her head before another reiatsu appeared at the door and Yuki quickly got up her bed and got into hiding under the comfort of the covers.

"I see that Yuki-san has woken up and… did something to her hair." Unohana said, as she watch the trembling bump on the bed.

"I'm sorry I didn't t notice her leaving the wards, taichou!"

"It is nothing to apologize about. Although I think I might need you to get someone so Yuki could get her hair… better cuts…"

"Right away, taichou." After Isane left the room, Unohana then glanced towards Yuki whose head is peeking out from the blanket before going into hiding once again.

"I might have to remind you that Kuchiki-taichou is coming this way at this moment…"

"Yes, Unohana-taichou…" Yuki then was surprised when she felt a hand on top of her head, caressing it.

"You did nothing wrong, you do not have to worry about anyone getting angry at you. Though it was a shame that you need to cut your hair because of it."

"I… wanted to show everyone that I want to start again, and from now on I will learn to grow stronger so I can protect everyone…"

"Yuki-san, it is not a wrong thing to do to protect, but you must know that you are still young compared to all of us. Take it easy, do not push yourself too far. If I see you often being sent here, I will take actions."

"Y-Y-Yes, Unohana-taichou…" Yuki said, cowering in fear at the sudden flare of reiatsu behind her. Yuki then almost cried in fear when another familiar reiatsu flared behind her, and she knew that Isane just had to tell her uncle the antics she did just now.

"Yuki." A deep and slightly angry voice boomed from behind her and she curled up even tighter, not ready to face her uncle who might or is going to give her an earful about what she did to her hair. But she didn't expect to be suddenly pulled away from her bed into the familiar arms of Kuchiki Byakuya.

"… Byaku ji-chan…?" Yuki said worriedly, placing her hands on Byakuya's back as her arms are not long enough to wrap around Byakuya's torso.

"I might as well tell you that you've been sleeping for 5 days, Yuki-san." Unohana stated, making Yuki's mouth agape in shock. 5 days? Has it been that long?

'_Indeed it has, Yuki.'_ Kazeyomi voiced in her head.

"Kazeyomi…"

"I am guessing I was right about you talking to your zanpakuto." Unohana said as Byakuya finally released Yuki from his arms, stepping away as Unohana handed Yuki his sword. Yuki stared at her zanpakuto for a while before grabbing it, holding it close to her like how people would with bolsters. Unohana just smiled at Yuki's actions and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Since you have woken up, and was able to do such things to your hair, I think it would be safe to say that you are alright to go home."

"… Home?"

"Ah, I meant the Kuchiki manor." Unohana cleared and Yuki then looked towards Byakuya who is looking back at her. A smile then lit up Yuki's face before she went to give Byakuya a hug. Unohana could only open her eyes in shock before smiling when the 6th division captain uncharacteristically, once again, gave the young girl an embrace. After a while, Yuki got out from Byakuya's arms and bowed to Unohana.

"Thank you for everything, Unohana-taichou. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused earlier."

"As you have clearly stated your reason to me, I understand. And you might heard from Isane later as she is going to get you someone who could… make better cuts for your hair." Unohana said as Byakuya looked disapprovingly to Yuki who suddenly took an interest on the floor.

"I understand…"

"Alright then, of you go both of you. And remember, I would not like to see you being sent here often, Yuki-san." Byakuya felt his niece stiffen and sighed.

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><p><strong>I hope I can get at least <span>4 reviews<span> so I can go on to the next chapter...**

**I really felt like there was something that I should do to fix this...**

**Please give me a review so I can know what's wrong!**


	3. Chapter 3

Oh well... I really wanted to continue this story so...

I do not own Bleach

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><p><strong><em>The Shinigami Child -3-<em>**

Yuki was going around the sixth division, either tailing Renji around or reading one of the many books about kido that Unohana had lent her. Even though Unohana had suggested that Yuki enter the shinigami academy, Byakuya had been reluctant to let her niece go so quickly, so she has been told to learn on her own. When Yuki had told Byakuya she wanted to learn more about kido, Renji had been yelling about how he will never teach Yuki how because all his kido blew up when he was still in the academy. Yuki had looked at him weirdly after that, but when Renji recommended Hinamori to her, she hesitated.

"Are you sure it is alright for me to go and see Momo-san, Renji nii? Momo-san might…" Thinking that Momo might remember the Aizen incident made Yuki scared. The first and last time she was here, the Aizen incident happened, she was too scared Hinamori, the one who was so kind to her, might remember the things that hurt her. She doesn't want to hurt Hinamori, she was scared of facing Hinamori. And the same thing applied to Matsumoto, Yuki had been avoiding both the fifth and tenth division because of the fear that she might bring sadness to both lieutenants. Renji seemed to notice Yuki's sudden silence and understood, before grinning in triumph and picking Yuki up.

"Don't worry about a thing! I actually talked to Hinamori about you being here, and she's actually been visiting you in the fourth division."

"… She did?"

"Yes, she did. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you, let along told you about some things since she's kind of good with her kido spells." Yuki then hesitantly turn towards Byakuya who was still looking at his paperwork before back at Renji who shrugged at her nervousness.

"You don't have to be so shy, or we can at least go as Hitsugaya-taichou to help you…"

"I… kind of wanted to avoid both divisions at the moment…"

"That's kind of a problem… how will you learn if you don't have anyone to teach you? Kira's a bit busy right now, so…"

"It's okay… I can learn on my own, I guess?" A rustle of paper was heard before Yuki felt a hand on her head and looked up to see Byakuya looking at her.

"For kido training, you need to be in a vast place so you won't damage anything. Come, Yuki." Byakuya said, motioning for Yuki to follow him as the said girl beamed at the prospect of having Byakuya himself to teach her kido before waving to Renji who was frozen to his spot in the office before shaking his head.

"… I think I need sake… I wonder if Matsumoto have some to share… never knew taichou could be so… protective… or should I say possessive? Nah, maybe I should just go to Hinamori and told her she can see Yuki since she's out from the fourth division."

Yuki, who had learned how to shunpo the last time she was here, almost had no troubles trying to keep up with Byakuya although she knew he was slowing down so she wouldn't lost him. Yuki then thought about the reason why she had never thought about learning kido the last time she was here and remembered that she was too preoccupied with how to train her reiatsu at the time, and that she has never seen many people did it before.

"We're here." Yuki then skidded to a stop and noticed that they had arrived in a rather remote training ground with trees surrounding them. Yuki then smiled when she felt the wind blowing and took a deep breath before turning to Byakuya in excitement. Byakuya couldn't help but to soften his eyes at the look of pure excitement in Yuki's eyes, it was like that time her mother would look this excited when they were going to spar, as their grandfather doesn't really want Miyuki to turn out as a tomboy, but his sister didn't care and kept on sparring with him.

"… What are we going to do today, Byaku ji-chan?"

"Do you know what kind of bakudo, hado and healing spells there are, Yuki?"

"… I know a bit, I read it at one of Unohana-taichou's books. Are we going to learn bakudo first?"

"That is correct, you might find them more useful for immobilizing enemies."

"After looking at how a shinigami would fight, I think bakudo spells and healing spells might be more useful for some than hado spells. But hado spells are quite useful too, but I think they would require more energy…"

"That might be correct, but it also depends on the shinigami that uses the spells. I see you've been reading well." Byakuya said, looking at Yuki with eyes filled with pride at his niece who gave him a big smile.

"But that still doesn't change the fact that you have been sneaking out from your scheduled rests to read." Yuki's big smile then dropped into a pout as Byakuya shook his head at how childish Yuki looks with that pout on her face.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again…"

"You should. You do remember that Unohana-taichou will take this matter into her hands if you were to be sent to the fourth division, don't you?" Byakuya watched as Yuki's face paled and was amused at how easily Yuki's expression could change by saying some things. Perhaps being free to express is one of the traits she got from her father.

"… Can we continue now…?" Yuki said, clearly not wanting to talk more about the fourth division captain who could be very scary when she needed to be. Byakuya then nodded and continued to explain things to his young niece as Yuki tried to absorb everything that Byakuya taught her and to be attentive because it would be rude to her uncle since he went as far as to teach her kido on his own.

After the sun sets on Seiteirei, Yuki, who was trying to keep her eyes open as she had exhausted herself when she had tried various spells of bakudo that her uncle had taught her finally gave in and let out a yawn. The yawn was easily noticeable to Byakuya who had been watching his niece working with various kido spells that would take most shinigami quite some time to master.

"Let's go back, you've had enough for today." Yuki was about to say something but she cowered under the gaze of her uncle and she reluctantly nodded, feeling the tiredness finally getting to her.

'_You've been warned, Yuki.'_

"I know…" Yuki suddenly said, making Byakuya turn at her as Yuki could only smile sheepishly, holding Kazeyomi close to her.

"Focus, Yuki."

"Yes, ji-chan."

'_No dazing off right now, you're heading off home and you don't want to be lost, do you?'_ the wind zanpakuto got a point, as Yuki quickly followed her uncle back to the Kuchiki manor. When they had finally arrived, Byakuya then told Yuki he'll go to his division to see if everything is alright before telling her to go get some rest. Yuki then felt guilty for taking her uncle's precious time when he could have been doing his job in the division.

"Sorry for taking your time, ji-chan…" Yuki then felt a hand on her head before it disappeared as fast as it came. Yuki then entered her room that she had occupied perhaps months ago and got into her futon before quickly drifting off to sleep. That night, Yuki slept with a contented smile on her face as Kazeyomi started telling her stories.

When Byakuya had come back to the manor later on, the manor was quite. As he stepped into Yuki's room, a sight of Yuki sleeping peacefully greeted him and he gently knelt down and brushed Yuki's hair out of her face.

"Byaku ji-chan…" Yuki mumbled in her sleep before turning around so her back is facing Byakuya as the said person could only shook his head before leaving the room, giving his niece another glance before he closed the door.

"Sleep well, Yuki."

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><p><em><strong>Review...?<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

New chapter ahoy~

I do not own Bleach!

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><p><em><strong>The Shinigami Child -4-<strong>_

"Good morning." Yuki was becoming a common presence in the sixth division. It is almost the fourth week since Yuki came to Seiteirei, not counting the days she was stuck in the fourth division. Most of the shinigami of the sixth division were surprised to see her around the gotei 13 once again, but they were kind enough not to question anyone about what happened, perhaps it's because Byakuya had clearly told everyone that if they mess with her, they will mess with the whole Kuchiki family, and no one wanted to die so early. Yuki was more than happy to talk again with some of the division's older shinigami whom she had become close with when she had last been in Seiteirei, they made her feel at ease.

"Oh, Yuki-chan!" Yuki perked up at the familiar voice and her face brightened when she saw the vice-captain of the fifth division there together with the vice captain of the division she's currently in. Yuki then quickly shunpo-ed closer and kicked the sixth division vice-captain on the back before beaming at Hinamori Momo.

"Momo-san! Good morning, how are you feeling today?" Yuki said, still standing on top of Renji's twitching body.

"I'm feeling just fine today… but what about Abarai-kun…?" Momo asked as Yuki jumped down from the red-haired shinigami's back as Renji stood up and rubbed his soon to be hurting back.

"Don't worry about me, Yuki did this everyday. She's getting better at her speed… as expected from taichou's niece. But you're pretty light for your size, Yuki… are you sure you've been eating well?"

"I'm eating what Byaku ji told me to, it's healthy. Is there something you need in the six division, Momo-san?"

"No, I was just talking to Abarai-kun before you came, Yuki-chan. Thank you for listening to me." Abarai looked at both Hinamori and Yuki weirdly as the shorter girl shook her head.

"Ichi nii told me once that it's not good to keep everything to yourself. If it helps you, I'm glad, Momo-san."

"What are you two talking about? What talk?"

"It's a secret, isn't it, Yuki?" Yuki nodded in agreement to Hinamori as Renji started to twitch in annoyance. Yuki then stuck her tongue out at Renji and ran away before Renji could say anything.

"Yuki-chan's getting much better, I'm so glad she's okay now." Momo said as she turned to the twitching vice-captain.

"If you mean getting much better by being very childish, then yes. She is getting better."

"But she's still a child, Abarai-kun. She's even younger than Hitsugaya-kun!" Renji then sighed before he nodded in understanding.

"I know, I know, seeing Yuki like this is actually good. Since she was so quiet when she first came here, I think she's starting to get use to being here now. Unohana-taichou had mentioned that she was unstable when she was last here because part of her is still human, but now since she's a shinigami, she's feeling much better."

"I'm sure Kuchiki-taichou must be glad, but Yuki's not the type to get into trouble, isn't she?"

"Nope, not with Kuchiki-taichou around. But more likely she's getting into trouble with taichou because she's stubborn about her training time and about her resting time."

"Resting time? Do you mean naps?"

"Unohana-taichou mentioned that Yuki should have plenty of rest for the first month she's here, and taichou doesn't want to take any risks of Yuki suddenly collapsing.

"Abarai. Where is Yuki?" Both Renji and Hinamori then jumped at the voice of the sixth division captain before both turning and bowing at the same time.

"After she got me, she ran away. Do you want me to look for her, taichou?"

"… Bring her back when it's dawn."

"Yes, taichou!" When Byakuya had disappeared from both vice-captain's view, Renji let out a big sigh.

"… What am I now? A babysitter…?"

"You don't match the part of a babysitter though, Abarai-kun." Momo said, trying to lift Renji's spirit.

"What's this about a babysitter?" a voice called as Renji froze on his feet and Hinamori yelled in surprise before both turning around to see the tenth captain staring with bore at them.

"H-Hitsugaya-kun! Don't do that!"

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou, bed-wetter Momo."

"It was nothing, Hitsugaya-taichou. Just my taichou looking for his niece." That seemed to catch Hitsugaya's attention as the small taichou turned towards Abarai with one eyebrow raised.

"Yuki disappeared?"

"No, she just ran away from Abarai-kun after she got him on the back. You mean you didn't see her, Hitsugaya-kun? And since when did you call someone by their first name?"

"No, I didn't see her. And it is because I don't feel well calling her Kurosaki if Kurosaki is around, or calling her a Kuchiki if Kuchiki is around. Especially if both Kurosaki and Kuchiki are around."

"… You made a point, Hitsugaya-kun… but still, you look too comfortable with her to call her by her first name because of those reasons!"

"… Just shut up, Hinamori. I better go back before Matsumoto drinks sake again…" Hitsugaya said before he disappeared from Hinamori and Renji's view.

"… I think he was just making sure Yuki's not in his division. Hitsugaya-kun's been spending time with her lately."

"Hinamori!" Momo then winced before bidding Renji goodbye and shunpo-ing away.

Yuki was having fun walking around the division before she decided to pay the Shiba family a visit. Her uncle might be a bit angry at her later for going outside, but Jidanbou was kind enough to let her out, after she promised she'd come around to talk to him more often. Maybe she could; after all, she managed to sneak outside, didn't she? And perhaps she can bring Hitsugaya here; Matsumoto did say that the white-haired captain might need some fresh air.

"Kuukaku-san, are you there?" Yuki said when she had arrived at the unique house. Ichigo had told her it was weird, but she didn't expect it to be like this. Oh well, the weirder it is, the more interesting it is. But it seemed quiet, maybe they're out at the moment.

"Maybe I came not at the right time, oh well, I'll just talk to Jidanbou-san instead." Yuki was about to walk away before a hand grabbed her shihakushou and threw her inside the house. Yuki swiftly landed on her feet and was about to take her zanpakuto out before Kuukaku's face appeared in front of her own. Yuki then fell down in shock as Kuukaku laughed out loud at the girl before Yuki sat back up and bowed her head, face red in embarrassment.

"That was quite good, you were alert, and that's what matters. Although I must say, I don't really like seeing you in a shihakushou. Any reason for you to come here out of all places in Seiteirei? And what did you do to your hair?" Kuukaku said as she took a seat across Yuki.

"I thought I'd visit… it's been a while, Kuukaku-san. How are you feeling?"

"Don't be too formal with me, just Kuukaku's alright. I'm pretty good, if I do say so myself. Now then, tell me, why are you here in Seiteirei and not in the real world?"

"… I died, Kuukaku nee. I'm no longer human now, I'm a shinigami."

"… And I'm guessing you are with the Kuchikis now?"

"Yes."

"You know, you can always visit whenever you want. Our doors are open to you, and when you needed to talk, you can always talk to me." Kuukaku said, ruffling Yuki's now really short hair.

"… Thank you, Kuukaku nee."

"Your long hair was much better than this… you better got a good reason for cutting them."

"I… Is wanting to start anew a good reason, Kuukaku nee…?" Yuki asked as she started to play with her hands, embarrassed for being asked about her hair. She's been getting the same questions lately, all of them are about why did she cut her hair since they thought she'll look better with her hair longer.

"… I guess I'll let you off this time. But it's not that bad, I never thought you'd look nice with short hair." Yuki perked up at the praise and looked to see Kuukaku grinning at her. A big smile then crept unto Yuki's face as she said thank you to Kuukaku who told her it was nothing.

"Just remember, I'd appreciate it if you'd come here not wearing a shihakushou. I have my reasons."

"Yes, Kuukaku nee." Both Kuukaku and Yuki then turned towards the door when they felt a reiatsu and Yuki smiled apologetically at Kuukaku who shook her head.

"It seemed that you have someone picking you up."

"I didn't tell anyone I was coming here though…"

"Then I guess you're just transparent." Kuukaku then laughed when Yuki turn to give a look that Kuukaku think is too far off from being angry.

"Come on in. If you're really going to pick up the girl then come in, if not, go away. And if it's Ganju, just get lost." Yuki let out a twinkling laugh at Kuukaku's words and stood up, walking towards the door with the older woman following her. When she stood in front of the door she turned back towards Kuukaku with suspicion in her eyes before opening the door.

"… Hitsugaya-taichou? Why are you here? I thought Renji nii might be the one who found me here…"

"You put too much hope to Abarai. Do you really think he'd find out that you're here?"

"… I thought he might at least suspect something if he found out I'm not anywhere around the divisions or the manor…"

"Come on, we're going back. Abarai told me Kuchiki-taichou wants you to be back before dawn." Yuki then turned towards Kuukaku and bowed as the woman gave her hair an affectionate ruffle.

"Come again, kiddo. Take care." Yuki nodded and gave Kuukaku a brief hug before shunpo-ing with Hitsugaya.

"Jidanbou told me you promised him that you'd come out to talk to him." The white-haired captain said to the girl shunpo-ing next to him.

"I did, it's okay, right?"

"You know Kuchiki-taichou won't be very happy if he finds out you've been spending time outside the division."

"It's okay, I can fend off on my own. And thank you for coming to get me, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"… How are you feeling?"

"Unohana-taichou said that since I'm a shinigami now, I'm much more stable here than I used to. I only have to rest more often for first few weeks. After that, I'll be just fine."

"I see you've been training your kido. Hinamori's been giving you trainings, hasn't she?"

"Momo-san was nice enough to help me out, even if she's busy."

"… Thank you." Hitsugaya said suddenly and Yuki understood that Hitsugaya meant about the time she had spent time with Hinamori to talk to the still doubtful vice-captain.

"… You're welcome, Hitsugaya-taichou." Yuki said as both shinigami entered the Gotei 13.

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><p>Reviews would be appreciated<p>

Rants:

I've been getting bad grades in physics at school lately... I'm so scared about failing class...

Not to mention I've been feeling tired more often lately... and I've been experiencing mental breakdown quite often this new semester...

Can someone help me?


	5. Chapter 5

_Continuing on_

_I do not own Bleach_

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><p><em><strong>The Shinigami Child -5-<strong>_

In the Kuchiki manor, Yuki was standing in the garden, looking up towards the sky. Yuki wondered how everyone was doing in the real world, has Ichigo been okay? Are Karin and Yuzu mad at her for leaving them without saying anything? Is Isshin ji-chan alright? How about her Tatsuki nee? And Ichigo's other friends, Iryuu-san, Chad nii-san… Yuki wondered if they are doing alright, fighting hollows in the real world. Yuki is still not allowed to go to the real world by Byakuya, telling her that it is dangerous, and he doesn't want her to be of a burden to those who were sent to slay hollows. It might sound mean to the others, but Yuki knew Byakuya was just looking out for her, worried that if she saw the Kurosaki, she would break.

Yuki understood, her emotion control was still too far from good, but she was learning. Yuki was glad Kazeyomi didn't literally take Byakuya said to heart, like that time when Renji was almost livid when Byakuya said that she was still weak so she still can't slay hollows like others. Renji was about to ask her uncle how he could say such a thing to her, his own niece, but Yuki could sense what other people can't, and she knew Byakuya was afraid of her to be killed. She had tried speaking to Renji afterwards, telling him that her uncle hadn't meant everything he said, and she was lucky Renji believed her. She doesn't want anyone to argue just because of her, after all, Unohana also said that she should avoid fighting hollow for a while since she's also not sure if there's something wrong with her.

"Yuki." Yuki turned at the voice of her uncle and smiled when Byakuya stepped into the garden.

"Byaku ji-chan." What Byakuya said next made her blink, believing she was hearing things. And when Byakuya said it again after noticing that she doubted what she had heard, Yuki had to think about what has happened to the real world to make the head captain of the 13 divisions to send her away.

"Yuki, Yamamoto-soutaichou has requested for you to go to the living world." Yuki then looked up to Byakuya to see him staring at her, face unreadable like always. Yuki then stepped forward to her uncle and let herself be wrapped in his arms, it was a rare occurrence for her uncle to hug her on his own, but there must be something wrong to make him act like this; and the order must be one of them.

"I'll be alright, Byaku ji-chan. There's no way anything could be wrong, right? After all, why would Yamamoto-soutaichou send me back to the real world if I won't be of help?" Byakuya tightened his hold on Yuki and pulled back to see the understanding eyes of his niece looking to his clouded ones.

"Do not doubt yourself, you are stronger than you think." Byakuya curtly said before turning to the sword on his niece's side.

'_I will protect her, Byakuya-sama. You don't need to worry about Yuki going back to the real world'_ a voice then said in his head, and knew instantly that it was Yuki's zanpakuto that was speaking in his mind.

"Byaku ji-chan, I'll be fine. I'll report back to you when I arrive at the real world and tell you what's wrong." Byakuya then placed his hand on Yuki's head and faintly nodded.

"You will be going with Hitsugaya-taichou into the real world. Stay on guard." Yuki couldn't help but to give her uncle a small amused smile. Byakuya seemed to be irritated easily whenever she told him she had stopped by the tenth division to talk to the said division's captain. It was silly of him, although he doesn't show it, but she was glad her uncle cared, if only she could reassure him that she was only there to talk, and nothing else.

"Yes, Byaku ji-chan, I promise to stay safe." Byakuya then nodded at Yuki and both of them then left the manor, to the meeting point where Yuki will soon go to the real world. When they had arrived at the meeting point, Matsumoto and Hitsugaya were both waiting for her. When they notice that Yuki was there with Byakuya Matsumoto quickly smiled and waved at her. Yuki waved back at Matsumoto and then turned back to Byakuya who kept his eyes on her.

"I'll now take my leave, Kuchiki-taichou. I will report as soon as we settled down in the real world." Yuki said courteously, silently telling Byakuya that she will go as a shinigami and do her job as a shinigami. Byakuya then gave his nod of approval before watching Yuki left to join the captain and vice-captain of the tenth division. Before the three shinigami leave, Byakuya left from the scene and went back to his division, back to his work, patiently waiting for his niece to arrive in the real world and report to him.

It was after Yuki, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto had stepped out from the senkaimon that they stood on top of one of the roofs to discuss about their mission. Yuki looked around for a while, somehow feeling elated at the sight of the unchanging town she had left and broke out into a big childish smile before she regained her composure after being called by the captain of the tenth division.

"We're here to check on the sudden activities of the hollows as well as the arrancars, there has been a report saying that there has been a rise on these activities." Yuki was confused after Hitsugaya's explanation and she closed her eyes to let the winds sense the surroundings. Nothing seemed wrong in the town, she thought, has there really been a lot of hollow activities here? If there was, it was as if the trace has been thoroughly erased, as if it was a clean kill. When Yuki suddenly sensed the reiatsu of one of the Kurosaki, she stiffened and opened her eyes to see Matsumoto and Hitsugaya looking at her.

"Yuki? Are you listening?" Yuki nodded at Hitsugaya before turning around to take another look at the town.

"I… there was no trace of hollow activities. It was like a very clean kill, no recent trace of reiatsu and there seemed to be nothing suspicious…" Hitsugaya then frowned at this turned to Matsumoto.

"If what you said was true, we all should be careful. There could be a hollow attack at any time. For now, we should split up and patrol." Hitsugaya then noticed Yuki flinch all of a sudden and sensed the familiar reiatsu of Kurosaki Karin and sighed.

"You have to face them at one point. There's no use in running away." Hitsugaya said to Yuki who nodded, but didn't say anything. Yuki then placed a hand on the hilt of her zanpakuto before feeling a hand on her shoulder. Yuki lifted her head up to see Matsumoto giving her smile.

"Don't worry, Yuki-chan. I'm sure it'll be just fine." Yuki gave Matsumoto a grateful smile before taking a deep breath and straightened up. Hitsugaya then nodded at both Matsumoto and Yuki before all of them split up to patrol. Yuki then stood on one of the communication poles to take the sight of the town to heart.

'_Are you sure you're ready, Yuki?'_

"I have to face them soon enough, Kazeyomi. And I have to be in a gigai remember? I can't keep avoiding them, I did say I want to start again, didn't I? I guess I just have to see what will happen next."

'_One thing I know that they'll be very displeased about, is your hair.'_ Yuki then groaned when her zanpakuto said that and sighed when Kazeyomi laughed at her.

"Not this again… at least I'm not cutting them really short, it still reaches my neck…"

'_And your old hair reaches your forearm'_

"Rukia nee already whined enough for both of you and Byaku ji-chan. If either Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan, or Ichi nii asked about my hair again, I'm going to hit my head on the wall…"

'Now, now. We don't want you to get a head concussion. Let's go, Yuki, we should be patrolling, not standing around doing nothing. Or would you go and report to Byakuya-sama first?'

"You're right." Yuki said as she took out the communicator phone that her uncle gave her personally. Yuki then pushed some buttons before waiting for anyone to pick up.

"**This is the 12****th**** division. What would you like to report, shinigami Kuchiki Yuki."**

"I would like to report to Kuchiki-taichou, please."

"**Very well."** Yuki closed her eyes, staying alert if any hollow or strange reiatsu went pass her before opening them once again when she heard the voice her uncle.

"**Report, Yuki."**

"We have arrived in Karakura town safely, we didn't sense anything out of the ordinary at first, but now we have split up to patrol around the town."

"**Very well then. Is that all?"**

"Yes, Kuchiki-taichou. If anything happens, I'd report back as soon as I can."

"**Alright, you are dismissed."** Yuki then closed the phone and hoped that her uncle get the message that she's alright, and ready to do her duty as a shinigami. Yuki's eyes then widened and she quickly shunpo-ed away, ready to slay the hollows that are the source of the sudden spike of reiatsu.

"Lend me your power, show me the way, Kazeyomi!"

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><p><em>Review please~<em>


	6. Chapter 6

Somehow I feel like I don't know what to write anymore... (go listen to more Bleach music for motivation)

I do not own Bleach, only Yuki!

Let's skip to the Winter War, shall we?

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><p><em><strong>The Shinigami Child -6-<strong>_

The Winter War has finally descended upon them. Although Yuki was sure her powers were good enough for her to come, she was still uncertain about things. True, she had finally gained more control when she was in her Shikai form, but she was yet to use her bankai form to fight. And her uncertainty about their enemies grew, especially about Gin. She had never understood Gin; sure, she was both a little afraid and admired of him at first when she first met him in the Gotei 13, and that was because of his smile, and yet of the feelings of mystery coming out from him. Out of all the captains of the Gotei 13, to her, Aizen and Gin are the most mysterious out of them all. And yet, Gin is childhood friends of Matsumoto, whom she knew would never befriended someone of malice intentions, so then why? Why would Gin go as far as to hurt Matsumoto by leaving her? And to leave Kira who looks up to him as well?

Everyone was fighting, she herself was fighting, she has too many unanswered questions, but she cannot lose her concentration. No, especially since the arrancars Aizen had are all so powerful, one shinigami of a captain level wouldn't be enough to defeat one of them. She had seen how powerful Aizen had become, she had seen how distraught her friends had become, and she just hoped her cousin would come quick after being brought away by Isshin. She was just too surprised and too busy fighting to see that it was actually Isshin who had brought and pushed Aizen back with a flick for a finger. But deep inside, she kind of had a feeling Isshin had something to do with this, and kept on hoping that everything will be alright. Ichigo will come back soon and defeat Aizen, for now, she must do everything she had to prevent Aizen from destroying of what she knew as a fake Karakura Town. Yuki then prays, for all the shinigami, the captains, her friends and her family to be safe and for everything to turn out alright. Her cousin is strong, he will endure whatever Isshin gave him, or whatever his zanpakuto and hollow have decided to give him.

"Blow the enemies away, ride the wind! Bankai!" Yuki shouted before she went over to attack Halibel who deflected her attacks and she jumped to stand next to the tenth division captain who stood speechless at her bankai.

"I know I never tried to fight using a bankai before, it's gonna be a tough one for me. Are you alright, Hitsugaya-taichou?"

"… it's fine to call me by my name." Yuki then whipped her head towards the said captain who kept on looking forward towards the espada in front of her.

"… Hitsugaya-taichou…"

"I don't need to repeat myself, do I?"

"Of course not, Toushiro-taichou." Yuki said as both Hitsugaya and her draw out their swords. Both of them then rushed towards the tres espada, swords drawn as a burst of reiatsu exploded around them.

When Aizen had left with Gin towards the real Karakura Town, Yuki couldn't move, she was too tired, and her inexperience with bankai had drain her energy out. She had seen Ichigo being dragged away by Isshin to somewhere she doesn't know, and wished that her cousin would wake up from his doubts and fight Aizen before he could destroy Karakura Town. She might not live in the town anymore, but she still loves that town, the town where she used to live together with her family, the town where her cousins and friends live in, the town where she grew up. But now, she has more pressing matters to attend to, when she had seen Hitsugaya stabbed 'Aizen' she couldn't help but scream in terror when in was actually Hinamori who the captain had stabbed. And after seeing the tenth division captain so scared and distraught before turning into rage after what he's done, she had never felt the urge to comfort someone as deep as this. Perhaps it was because both Hitsugaya and Hinamori are her good friends, and knowing how both of them shared their childhood together, Hitsugaya must have been in pain after realizing what he had done to the person he had thought as his sister.

'_Yuki, can you hear me?'_ Kazeyomi's voice rings through her head and Yuki grunted in response as she looked towards the sword that is still in her hand. She could hear Kazeyomi sigh in relief and there was a sound of breath ragging and knew that her zanpakuto is tired herself, after all the energy she had let out to help her fight.

'How about you, Kazeyomi? You okay? I guess I was right about not able to hold on in bankai form for too long… Sorry.'

'_I'm okay, but you did great yourself. You hold on much longer that I have expected, and I know you are thinking of doing something. Might I ask if it's about that captain?'_

'Yes… I'm afraid Toushiro-taichou is in shock… too much shock.'

'_I can understand, he didn't know that it was his childhood friend that he stabbed, after all… it must be hard on him. How is the girl?'_

'Unohana-taichou is tending to Momo-san… and Matsumoto-san is holding onto Toushiro-taichou, but I know she wants to go after Gin-san…'

'_Go to him, child. Do what you think is right, I'll try and help you with my power.'_ Yuki then wobbly stood and staggered towards Matsumoto who quickly noticed that Yuki was staggering towards her and lifted one of her arms to welcome Yuki who shook her head and turned towards Hitsugaya whose eyes are blank after the shock and his wounds still open even the 4th division captain tried to heal it as quick as she could before turning to heal the 5th division vice-captain.

"Taichou seemed to still be in shock…"

"You can go if you want to, Matsumoto-san…" Matsumoto then turned to Yuki in shock at what she said as Yuki tried to give Matsumoto her best smile.

"I'll try and keep Toushiro-taichou safe, I… you can run and catch up to Gin-san if you're hurry…" Matsumoto then turned towards the still shocked Hitsugaya and then turned towards Yuki who is know kneeling, albeit how hard it is with her wounds.

"… Take care of taichou, Yuki-chan. I'll be back before you know it." Matsumoto said as she stood up and shunpo-ed away.

"Stay safe… Matsumoto-san." Yuki said as she scooted closer to Hitsugaya and placed a hand over on of his wounds.

"Toushiro-taichou, please get a hold of yourself…" Yuki said as she mustered all the reiatsu she could on healing the wounds of the tenth division captain. Yuki could only sigh in relieve when the said captain slightly turned to her.

"Yu… ki…?" Yuki then nodded, and watches as Hitsugaya's eyes regained some light in them.

"Momo…" Yuki hushed the struggling captain before Hitsugaya then realized that Yuki is trying to heal him even though she was weak and quickly grabbed onto her hand, stopping her flow of reiatsu.

"No!"

"Toushiro-taichou, I need you to stop struggling… your wounds are worse than mine, I need to help you." Hitsugaya kept on shaking his head and kept on holding onto Yuki's hand as the girl decided that perhaps she needed to rest for a while herself.

"Toushiro-taichou, Momo-san will be just fine. Unohana-taichou is tending to her now, look… she's going to be just fine…" Yuki flinched and turned to her side only to see blood seeping into her shihakushou.

'… It must be when I was flung towards the building…'

'_Yuki! Try and heal yourself!'_

"But I'm tired, Kazeyomi…" Yuki whispered before she fell forward towards Hitsugaya whose eyes widened and his hands then gripped onto her body, trying to shake her to keep her awake.

"Yuki!" Yuki turned her half-lidded eyes towards the worried and scared face of the tenth division captain and smiled.

"Ichi nii will be just fine, and so will Matsumoto-san, Momo-san and everyone… all shinigami and visored…" Hitsugaya then felt something wet on his hand and his eyes widened when he saw blood on them. The tenth division captain looked down to see Yuki whose eyes are starting to lose light in them, but still keeping a smile on her face. Hitsugaya's eyes widened as he realized what's happening and he shook Yuki's body while calling to her, trying to keep her awake.

"Yuki!" Hitsugaya felt his heart lifted when he saw Yuki slowly blinked her eyes and looked up at him with a brighter smile, but then his face turned into one of shock when Yuki's head went slack and he felt her reaistsu depleting fast.

"Yuki!"

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><p>One step closer to Hitsugaya? Maybe?<p>

Review please~


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 go!**

**I do not own Bleach!**

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><p><span>The Shinigami Child -7-<span>

They were back in Seiteirei, and many of the shinigami of the 4th division went in and out to tend to the injured after the Winter War had ended. Everyone rejoiced together at the end of Aizen, and then together they mourned the loss they've had from the war. In one of the many busy wards of the fourth division, one room remained untouched, it was quiet as Yuki lay on the bed, eyes closed and unmoving, still unconscious even after the war ended and she's been brought back to Soul Society. The door to her room then opened and the white-haired captain of the tenth division walked in and took a seat next to the bed.

"I guess you're still asleep… you lost quite some blood back there, not to mention you tried healing my wounds even though your reiatsu is already low enough…" Hitsugaya said, looking towards Yuki's peaceful smiling face. It's been some days after Aizen's capture, and Yuki is yet to open her eyes. Unohana had told him there's nothing wrong with Yuki, but it seemed to him that she has a habit of hibernating whenever she had undergo something she thought as heavy for her, or so Unohana said so. Hitsugaya was angry with himself for not being able to see Aizen's trick and for not being able to protect both Hinamori and Yuki. Speaking of Hinamori…

"… Hinamori survived… she going to undergo organ regeneration in the twelfth division. I thought you might want to know… knowing how you screamed when you saw me… stabbing her." Hitsugaya said, staring at his hands with guilt.

"Matsumoto told me you told her to chase after Gin while you take care of me… I heard you telling me to get a hold on myself; it was hard. And after I finally got a hold on myself, I saw you dying on me." Hitsugaya then stood up and placed his hand on top of Yuki's.

"… From now on I will train, to get stronger. You told me you wanted to get stronger so you can protect Kurosaki and his family. For me… I guess I wanted to protect both you and Hinamori…" He said as he turned away from Yuki and walked out from the room, closing the door behind him before shunpo-ing away from the division.

Slowly, Yuki opened her eyes only to find herself yet again inside the meadow of her mind. Yuki realized that she was on the ground leaning against the willow tree and pushed herself up to see that half of the flowers that have bloomed before suddenly became un-bloomed for some reason.

"I guess this is because I got scared again…" Yuki said, kneeling down to one of the budding flowers and touched it only for the flower to suddenly bloom, letting out a butterfly.

"No, it's because you finally felt at ease. Some of them are ready to bloom again, while some… it seemed that you still have unanswered questions." Yuki turned her head around and almost loses her balance and would have fallen to the ground if not Kazeyomi had reached her hand out to the slipping girl. Kazeyomi quickly helped Yuki up unto her feet and led her back under the willow tree.

"You have only awake, you should push yourself."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Around a week, give or take." Kazeyomi said as Yuki groaned and leaned her head against the tree as the butterfly that just came out from the blooming flower she touched rested against her hair.

"… A week? Have I grown a habit to sleep for days after a big fight…?"

"More likely you are resting your body. Your physics is of a small child, you cannot handle everything in such a short time, not to mention your inexperience with battles. Do not compare yourself with Hitsugaya-taichou after all, he has too much experience compared to you…"

"… I see…"

"You don't have to worry, there is nothing wrong with your body. Your lungs are growing better by the days, and your body perhaps will get used to all these fights soon."

"But everything's over now…"

"But that isn't a good enough reason to think that nothing as big as this will ever happen again, right?" Her zanpakuto got a point. When everything's over, sooner or later, something must be up again, whether it's big or not.

"I guess… I better enjoy these days of rests…"

"I'm afraid you have to wake up soon… you've been resting far too long for everyone not to worry about you. I know you don't like worrying everyone, but you have to wake up soon so everyone would know you're alright."

"… I wonder how everyone is…" Yuki said, looking towards her slightly dirty hands.

"Hitsugaya-taichou is alright, he just went over to see you before he left once again for training. He's been coming over for a few times, relaying about what happened to you. Do you want to know?" Yuki thought about it for a moment before nodding and let her zanpakuto tell her everything she's heard from the white-haired captain and she closed her eyes to rest for a little bit more.

"Everything's okay now, everyone won't hurt anymore…" As Kazeyomi relayed the story she has heard from the visits the white-haired captain of the tenth division has given her mistress, the zanpakuto realized that her mistress has once again drifted off to slumber, but she kept on talking, knowing that even if in her slumber, her mistress heard her telling everything that happened in her slumber.

"It is time to wake up soon, young mistress. Your friends and that person are waiting for your smiles." The wind zanpakuto said before she watches her mistress's body disappearing, her conscious going back into her body, ready to wake up in Soul Society's fourth division. Her mistress might be experiencing something she might not understand, but she will stand by her mistress, showing her the way. Her mistress is still a child, a child that wanted to know everything yet wanted to keep everything so simple, just like the place she is standing now. Simplicity. This is what shaped the mind if young Kurosaki Yuki, who is also known as Kuchiki Yuki in Soul Society. The simplicity she wanted to keep that made her mind looks so simple, yet complicated at the same time. What's so complicated you say? Just take a look, the flowers doesn't bloom at the same time, as it is fueled by the emotions Yuki is feeling. And the flowers are of different variations, from the ones Yuki all had seen in the book, or the types she had seen with her own eyes. Only one willow tree grows in the center, some trees also started to grow at various spots, but this willow tree is eternal, as it symbolizes her will.

As Kazeyomi watches her surrounding, she smiled, her mistress seemed to have woken up and requested her presence, now she shall leave to be at the side of her mistress. Perhaps the time will soon come where her mistress decided to come to this meadow once again and sat down to have a talk. For now, the sight of the flowers in his mistress's mind slowly bloom with butterflies flying out from the center is enough for her.

"Time to wake up, Yuki."

Hearing her zanpakuto once again telling her to wake up, Yuki opened her eyes to the ceiling of the fourth division and slowly lifted her hand up to look at the bracelet around her wrist. Yuki then smiled at it before lowering her hand down before pushing herself up to sit on the bed and turned towards the window to see the sky as clear as a blue crystal.

"It's clear today… should I get off the bed now? Or should I just wait until someone realized I'm awake…?" Yuki said to herself as she kept on smiling towards the sky. Yuki then felt something soft and noticed a teddy bear lying down next to her on the bed. Realizing that this was the old bear that she used to carry around when she was alive, she knew that her cousin was the one who brought it here for her. Kazeyomi was right; everyone's been coming over when she was still asleep. Yuki then started petting her bear before the door opened and Isane stepped in only to stop when she saw Yuki already awake and petting her bear. Yuki was about to greet the vice-captain good morning but stop when Isane walked out and closed the door once again. She can vaguely hear Isane calling out to her taichou and wondered what's wrong.

'_Perhaps it's because you had decided to wake up into the world of the living. Or should I say the world of the dead? Since you're not exactly alive… and in Soul Society…'_

"Very funny, Kazeyomi… " Yuki chided her zanpakuto and looked up once again when the door opened, now revealing her uncle who walked towards her before placing his hand on her forehead and moved towards her hair.

"Good morning, Byaku ji-chan." Yuki said before Byakuya started caressing her head, nodding at her.

"Do you think Unohana-taichou will let me off today, Byaku ji-chan?"

"I'm afraid I have to see your condition first, Yuki-san." Yuki's hope dimmed for a moment when Unohana came in with Isane in tow and reluctantly lie back down on the bed as Unohana told her so.

"Kuchiki-taichou, I would appreciate it if you leave the ward. Isane will get back to you later after I finish giving Yuki-san one last check up."

"… Can I go home after this, Unohana-taichou…? I feel numb…"

"That might be because you have been sleeping for far too long, Yuki-san. I will tell you that, after I have finished giving you and full check." Yuki then turned towards Byakuya who left the room and then back to Unohana who is giving her a soft smile.

"There's no need to worry, Yuki-san. If your results are favorable, you will be able to go back to the manor. Many people have been waiting for you to wake up, I'm sure they will be very happy to hear that you're alright." Unohana then instructed the girl to kept lying down on the bed as the older woman took a seat, waiting for Yuki to ask her questions.

"Unohana-taichou, can I ask you something…?"

"Of course. I'm sure you have many questions about what happened when you were resting."

"About Gin-san surviving, is it true?" Yuki then watches as the air around Unohana seemed to move the slightest bit and she looked up to the ceiling of the ward, smiling as she felt happy for a certain vice-captain.

"I'm sure Matsumoto-san will be very happy. I've actually wanted to know him better… after all, Matsumoto-san is not a person who would befriend someone who would hurt her like that…"

"I'm afraid, Ichimaru-san would have to be demoted from the captain's seat after everything that has happened. But he has tried to stop Aizen, even if he failed, I'm sure many would pardoned him."

"Well, at least he survived… I'm sure that's enough for Matsumoto-san."

"I guess you knew about their past then…?" Unohana said.

"I… kind of heard it second-hand from Toushiro-taichou, Matsumoto-san never really openly talk about Gin-san after he left with Aizen…" Unohana had opened her eyes wider in shock when she heard Yuki called the tenth division captain by his first name, but then the shock went over as quick as it came and a smile replaced the previously slightly opened mouth. So that is why the tenth division captain has been giving this room visits, the captain thought.

"Perhaps it is better to see Matsumoto-san yourself, Yuki-san. And I'm sure Hitsugaya-taichou will be glad to see you awake, he has been coming here quite frequesntly."

"Kazeyomi said so too… she told me what Toushiro-taichou talked about when I was still sleeping. He told me about Momo-san, and then about Matsumoto-san…" Unohana noticed that Yuki's eyelids started to drop and placed her hand on Yuki's shoulder.

"You should rest once more, Yuki-san. I will inform Kuchiki-taichou that you will be sleeping."

"I can go home after this… right?"

"Of course, Yuki-san."

"Thank you, Unohana-taichou."

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading guys!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8, sorry for uploading many chapters simultaneously... I forgot that I had finished them...**

**I do not own Bleach!**

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><p><span>The Shinigami Child -8-<span>

As Yuki was finally discharged from the fourth division, she was more than happy to enjoy the peace by drinking tea together with her uncle in the garden by the cherry blossom tree that was blooming so beautifully. Today was one of the days that the members of the Gotei 13 finally had the day to themselves after the war with Aizen was over. Yuki had been thinking about trying to go out and maybe visit Gin, ask him why he went over to Aizen in the first place, but since the captain of the tenth division had told her that it was something about his and Matsumoto's past she decided not to ask, but she was still thinking about why Gin would go to such lengths to protect Matsumoto. Could it be that Gin cared for Matsumoto too much to pass off as friends? If that is so, she would be happy to leave them alone.

"What are you thinking, Yuki?" Yuki blinked awake from her daze and turned towards her uncle who is sipping his tea across him.

"It's nothing, Byaku ji-chan. Just about Matsumoto-san."

"It is best to leave other people's business alone if it has nothing to do with you." Yuki nodded obediently and took a sip from her tea before looking towards the small pond in the Kuchiki manor's garden.

"I wonder where Rukia nee is…"

"Rukia told me she has something to attend to. Something about having a party in the manor."

"It would be nice to have Rukia nee drink tea with us… wait, a party? Are you sure it's alright, Byaku ji-chan?"

"As long as she and her guests behave. Remember Yuki, etiquette is important."

"Yes, Byaku ji-chan." Yuki said, hiding her smile behind her cup as she took another sip of her still-warm tea.

"Ichi nii went back to the living world, didn't he? Rukia nee told me he went over and gave me my teddy before he went back to the living world."

"Do you want to see him, Yuki?"

"I want to, but I'm a shinigami now, I can't just go back and forth to the living world. Besides, Ichi nii will probably came up with something about me not living with them anymore…"

"… Whenever Rukia patrols in the living world, you can go with her."

"But Rukia nee is… eh?" Yuki then stopped talking as she stared hard at her uncle who went back to drinking his tea, purposely not looking at Yuki. Yuki then went back to stare at her cup of tea and then back up at Byakuya who turned his head to look at the pond.

"… You'll let me go with Rukia nee, Byaku ji-chan? I thought… Unohana-taichou…"

"I thought it is time to for you to know your own limits. If you think you could, then you should. If you think you couldn't, then you shouldn't." Yuki's eyes then lit up in happiness as Byakuya smiled softly at her when Yuki decided that giving Byakuya a hug is one way to show her gratitude.

"Thank you, Byaku ji-chan." Yuki said as Byakuya placed a hand on her head and started to caress it before voices interrupted their peaceful teatime. Yuki turned her head towards the manor as familiar voices started to fill in the previously quiet residence.

"Do you need me to tell Rukia nee it's teatime, ji-chan?" Yuki noticed the frown that is growing on Byakuya's voice and silently hoped he'd say yes, it's not nice to interrupt people who are having teatime, and the house was peacefully quiet before too, she thought.

"No, Rukia will handle everything." Yuki was a bit disappointed at that and poured herself some more tea as thankfully, the noises finally toned down after someone seemed to get angry at the fuss. Wait, that voice sounded familiar, Yuki recognizes the voice as the tenth division captain's, but would he really come here? Or did his vice-captain made him to? Yuki then closes her eyes and tried to get familiar with the reaitsu as she still hasn't been able to remember which is which, but when she felt the familiar reiatsu, she opened her eyes, excitement twinkling in them.

"I guess that's Toushiro-taichou alright." And as if on cue, the said captain appeared from the corner with some of the other captains of Gotei 13 together with their vice-captains.

"You should welcome them, Yuki." Yuki nodded and placed her cup of tea down before bowing at Byakuya and walked, or rather ran, towards their guests.

"Welcome!" Byakuya then watches as his niece went over to the manor and started to talk to the rowdy guests. He watches as the tenth division captain seemed to stiffen, seeing as this is his first time seeing Yuki after being discharged before relaxing and giving Yuki an amused smile as the girl kept on smiling and greeting in excitement at everyone who came. He would have to watch that boy, Byakuya thought, as the tenth division's captain's face reddened slightly when Matsumoto said something to Yuki before turning away when Yuki smiled at him. For him, Yuki is still too young, he doesn't want her to get hurt emotionally if she gets too close to other people just yet, especially of opposite gender.

Byakuya thought back at the time his sister began to grew up and change, he was quite irritated at the male nobles who kept on trying to court his only sister. He could never understood why his sister find it so amusing to see him so irritated every time a male noble would try and court his sister. Over his dead body, he used to say. Those weak men don't deserve his sister, but then again, perhaps Yuki's father was the one who gave his sister everything he couldn't. His sister might be gone, but he'll keep his niece from harm, even if it means he's going to go against the tenth division captain in the future. He doesn't care if people call him overprotective, his job is to protect his niece, and he would do it until the last drop of his blood.

"Byaku ji-chan, are you alright?" Byakuya had stood up from his place under the cherry blossom tree and had walked towards his niece who was talking to the tenth division captain. As he stood by his niece's side, he had stared into the tenth division captain's eyes before he turned and walked away inside the manor after telling Yuki to stay with the guests since the girl was about to follow him inside.

"I wonder what's wrong with Byaku ji-chan, it's like he's suspicious of you about something, Toushiro-taichou. He was fine when were drinking tea earlier…" Matsumoto then started giggling together with Rukia as Yuki looked at them as if they just grew another head and then towards Renji who had a hand over his mouth before turning back towards Hitsugaya who shrugged at her. Yuki then turned towards the captain of the thirteenth division who only smiled at her. Yuki decided that perhaps today is not her day and decided to ask if any more people is coming over.

"Unohana-taichou mentioned that she might be coming later on, and as always, SoiFong-taichou and Kurotsuchi-taichou declined the invitation. Komamura-taichou said his apologies for not coming since he has other things to finish, and Zaraki-taichou doesn't seem to be interested." Ukitake said.

"Izuru and Momo is coming later, and Isane is going to come with her taichou. Hisagi's being a party pooper right now so he can't come. And I brought some sake with me!" Matsumoto said as Yuki took a step back at the mention of the drink and shook her head.

"I'm a minor, Matsumoto-san…"

"Aww, but you can try a little bit! Kuchiki-taichou wouldn't mind!" When a burst of reiatsu erupted from the manor and disappeared as fast as it came, Matsumoto then eep-ed and Yuki quickly turned towards the manor.

"I think Byaku ji-chan heard you, Matsumoto-san. Come on then, the garden's big enough for everyone!" Yuki said, welcoming the guests to the vast garden as Hitsugaya sighed at his vice-captain's behavior.

"Matsumoto-san seemed happy… is she…?" Hitsugaya understood that Yuki was trying to talk about the silver-haired man that is still undergoing his punishment and nodded.

"She's getting along with Gin just fine, they have not argued once ever since he's been detained. And she's actually doing her paperwork."

"Maybe Gin-san talked to her about it." Yuki said, happy enough just knowing the busty vice-captain is not sad about her good friend's detention.

"I doubt it. But she's doing much better. And Hinamori too." Yuki then directed her eyes towards the sky, thinking about the vice-captain who is going to undergo an organ restoration.

"I'm glad, and I hope Momo-san will fell better soon too. Momo-san is a very nice person, she deserves the best." Yuki said as Hitsugaya looked at the smiling Yuki through the corner of his eyes. Hitsugaya knew he was being silly, especially since he's a captain and he's feeling something like this, but Yuki is a good person. She had always been a good person right from the start, a bit oblivious considering she's still a child, but good nonetheless. And Hinamori is going to tease him about this if he knew, Matsumoto had been teasing him, he doesn't need his childhood friend to do the same. And not to mention the sixth division captain will surely watch him if he ever get too close to his niece.

"Everyone deserves the best, that means you too." Hitsugaya smiled a small smile when Yuki gave him a grateful and shy smile. Well, having someone as bright as her might be good for people like him whom everyone would usually said have a cold heart.

'_You're starting to like her, no, you're starting to love her' _Hyorinmaru said in his head. Hitsugaya then shook his head, trying to shake his zanpakuto off of his head before giving Yuki, who turned her head back at him when she was about to walk towards his vice-captain, a wave of his hand, telling her that there's nothing to worry about him. Hitsugaya then watch as Yuki shrugged and continued to approach the chatting vice-captains and jumped on her uncle's, making everyone laugh at how Renji fell face first to the ground.

"Shut up, Hyorinmaru."

'_But you didn't deny it, child'_ Hitsugaya sighed and then turned towards the struggling but laughing Yuki who is currently being held over the sixth division vice-captain's shoulder. Hitsugaya let out a small chuckle when Yuki managed to get off of Renji's shoulder and she tackled him again, her behavior turning wilder unlike when she was with her uncle. He guessed Byakuya couldn't deny that Yuki is turning to be a tomboy ever since she came here, but perhaps she has always been this free from the start. The only thing that was hiding her freedom was her doubts and fear of losing her family. But now that she is with her family, and even if she might not be able to visit her family in the real world often, she's happy where she is now. And perhaps, for him, seeing her this happy made him want to keep it this way.

"Maybe I am."

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><p><strong>... review...?<strong>

**Continuing on to chapter 9, go!**


	9. Chapter 9

**It's like a marathon...**

**I do not own Bleach**

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><p><span>The Shinigami Child -9-<span>

Yuki is sitting inside the shinigami academy's library, reading one of the many stacks she had piling up next to her. As Yuki was a special case, since she does not enter the shinigami academy in order to become a shinigami, Byakuya later told her that she would have to enter the shinigami academy as a formal procedure to become member of the Gotei 13. Yuki had asked why she was to enter now, and Byakuya had not answered her until now, she was a bit confused until Ukitake had to told her that she was still too young, but since you are strong enough to become a shinigami, Yamamoto had decided that you should enter as a formal procedure.

Yuki was nervous, she had never done well in schools, back when she was alive, she was too scared to go to school because even when her parents were alive she was used to be bullied for being able to see ghosts, and she is not as strong as Ichigo and Karin are, so she could not defend herself. And so, Yuki started to revert into her quiet self once again after she had entered the shinigami, hoping that everything will end soon so she wouldn't have to feel so different. Right now, she is sitting in the academy's library, after being sent out by the teacher without reasons. All Yuki remembered is that she was just answering questions the teacher had asked to her class, and after answer some questions that all her classmates doesn't know the answer to, she was told by her teacher to go to the library and read some other books.

'_You should be glad to be sent out from the class, Yuki. What more could you learn aside from kido class?'_

"But Kazeyomi…"

'_I know I should be saying this, but this is only for formal procedure. You have already learned enough on your own, and I'm sure Byakuya-sama already knew that.'_

"But I can't go against Yamamoto-soutaichou's order…"

'_If only I can talk to that Ryujin Jakka and see if he could talk to that stubborn master of his.'_

"Kazeyomi." Yuki scolded, noticing some of the academy's students' eyes on her for talking to herself. Yuki then continued on her reading, ignoring her rattling bracelet.

'… _At least they don't have boring books…'_

"Then be quiet and let me read…" Yuki whispered, imagining her zanpakuto now leaning against the willow tree, resting. But she knew her zanpakuto is reading together with her through her eyes. When she felt that everything had quieted down, she continued, occasionally lifting her head up and looking around, afraid that someone might be calling her back into class, but since there was no one, she kept on reading.

"Everything seemed quiet today, that's great." Yuki said to herself before the earth beneath her started to shake and she heard screaming from students inside and outside the library. After the shaking stopped, Yuki quickly stood up and ran out from the library, not caring if the librarian had yelled at her to stop because it's dangerous.

'_It's a hollow, isn't it?'_

"Either a small one or a gillian, I vote for the second, it looks like they have more than one. Let's go check it out." Yuki said, shunpo-ing from the academy.

'_Some members of the gotei 13 would probably arrive soon, this isn't something to be ignored.'_

"Better now than later, I felt some academy students over where the hollow is." Yuki said when she placed a hand over her bracelet and her bracelet then materialized into her zanpakuto. When Yuki stepped inside the forest, she quickly followed the trail of the wind before stopping in front of a gillian while she spotted some of the academy students holding their zanpakuto out towards the gillian.

"Everyone should get back to the academy quickly! More is coming here!" The students, although hesitated when they saw Yuki, since she was much younger then them, reluctantly obeyed her words and ran away back to the academy as the gillian in front of her roared. The neck of the Gillian suddenly slit open as Yuki swiped her zanpakuto to the side before watching as more gillian appeared in front of her.

"I guess we should do this quick, shouldn't we Kazeyomi?"

'_You're right… but please avoid having blood on me. That one was rather… nasty, if I must say'_

"When we got back, I'll find some soap… but for now, I don't think we can avoid being clean." Yuki said, looking at the gillians surrounding her. When a Gillian suddenly charged towards her, jumped towards the gillian and slashed it in half before cutting another.

'_You sure you don't want to activate shikai?'_

"And have unwanted attention because I'm a student and have a shikai? Byaku ji-chan told me not to and I won't, this is good practice anyway. Not to mention" Yuki said, ignoring her zanpakuto and went to cut off more gillians, not noticing one sneaking up behind her until she turned around when the gillian is ready to shoot its cero on her.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!" Yuki then watch as the gillian in front of her froze in ice and broke when a sword sliced it in half. Yuki then blinked awake from the shock when the tenth division captain stepped in front of her, his sword ready at his hand.

"You let your guard down, Yuki. But then again, you managed to defeat almost all of the gillians." Yuki then sighed and smiled gratefully to Hitsugaya before hearing the sound of her uncle's vice-captain calling out for her before Abarai Renji emerges from the rows of trees around them.

"Yuki! Are you alright?" The red-haired vice-captain asked Yuki who could just smile when the vice-captain grabbed her by the forearm, almost lifting her feet up the ground.

"I'm okay, Renji nii… Toushiro-taichou got the last one. But can you put me down now?"

"Oh right… sorry. But are you sure you're alright? You don't need to go to the fourth division? Taichou is going to kill me if something happened to you."

"Does she look like she needed medical attention aside from her reiatsu level, Abarai?" Renji then turned towards the captain of the tenth division and narrowed his eyes. He only remembered his taichou telling him to quickly go and see what's going on in the academy, as well as to see if Yuki is alright. Either it is the soutaichou's decision to send one of the captains here, or the tenth division captain decided to come here himself because of his taichou's niece. Maybe he should tell Matsumoto or Hinamori about this later. Renji knows he's being a bit paranoid, since Yuki is a bit of a troublemaker when it comes to her limits, but he's starting to get suspicious of Hitsugaya.

"Thank you, Hitsugaya-taichou. Kuchiki-taichou will probably kill me if anything happens to Yuki…"

"Abarai, you should probably go and see if there are any academy students around here, either injured or lost. Did you see anyone getting injured?" Hitsugaya said, turning to Yuki who shook her head.

"I think I got here on time before anyone got hurt. But I don't know if there are any other students here…" Hitsugaya then nodded and turned to Abarai who quickly shunpo-ed to see if there are any other academy students either hurt or lost inside the forest.

"Thank you, Toushiro-taichou." Hitsugaya then nodded, there is no way he is going to tell her that he had been keeping an eye on her in the academy, not just because Karin had told her she'll be keeping an eye on him, but just because he's worried she might be having troubles in the academy. He knew how it is, feeling different in the academy, especially with his white hair, he doesn't want Yuki to go through that.

"It's nothing. How's the academy?"

"It was nice, but I spend most of my time in the library. Even when I was alive, I couldn't make much friends in school, it's not different here."

"I see…"

"Well, I could have been off reading if only Kazeyomi would stop talking in my head. Ukitake-taichou told me it's only for a formal procedure since I'm still young, and people started becoming suspicious of me."

"It'll be over sooner or later. You were holding back with those gillians, weren't you?"

"I guess I was, Kazeyomi kept on telling me about it to no end." Yuki said, lifting her zanpakuto up.

"Do you sense any more hollows?" Hitsugaya then asked and Yuki closed her eyes, reading the air before opening her eyes and shook her head.

"There's none around the academy. Do you have any idea how they could've gotten here?"

"Hinamori told me once she, Izuru and Abarai were attacked by huge hollows here… so I guess it can be an accident, or some students were trying to show off."

"I better get back to the academy… I ran out from the library earlier without putting the books back on the shelves…" Hitsugaya then chuckled and shook his head before noticing Yuki staring at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You look better when you laugh, Toushiro-taichou. You look relieved somehow." Yuki then bowed and shunpo-ed away, back towards the shinigami academy. Hitsugaya then shook his head and looked towards his blade, glinting under the moon, as if mocking him.

"Hyourinmaru, is it wrong of me to like her as I do now?"

'_It is for you to realize and for I not to tell'_

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><p><strong>Chapter 9 done!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 ready!**

**I do not own Bleach**

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><p><span>The Shinigami Child -10-<span>

"Hey, I heard she's actually the niece of the sixth division captain, Kuchiki Byakuya."

"Is that true? That Kuchiki Byakuya, the leader of the Kuchiki clan?"

"No wonder someone as young as her got into the academy, her uncle is a noble!"

"But I heard that she's an orphan. Do you think she might actually be adopted?"

"They really look alike, but I never heard of Kuchiki-taichou having siblings."

"She's always sent out to the library by the teachers, does that mean she's a genius? Or is she a troublemaker?"

Whispers came about from the students of the academy as Yuki walks through the corridor, holding onto a thick book, trying to return it back to the library. Yuki had told herself to block everything that everyone said about her, but she couldn't help but think, why is it such a fuss that she is the niece of the sixth division captain.

'_Perhaps it is because of his status as a noble family member, I know I used to tell you to show them off, I still think the same. But you were right about not letting them get into you, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm always waiting.'_ Her zanpakuto told her as she entered the quiet escape that the library provided. Yuki then sat on one of the chairs after she had picked some books to read.

'_Kido again? You've read at least a dozen books already on them, Yuki.'_

"This is one about healing kido. I need to know more about them so I won't have to go to the fourth division so often. You know how scary Unohana-taichou can be."

'_You know, students are staring at you again. You might try not talking to me… or at least ignore me when I'm talking like last time.'_

"It's not like I'm talking to myself, Kazeyomi. Let them be, you're not doing anything by trying to manipulate the air."

'_I have the right to protect you, Yuki'_

"But you don't have the right to kill others on your own. A zanpakuto works together with its master, not works for its master."

'_I have my reasons right now'_

"You might need to consult yourself to Unohana-taichou. You've been acting strange. Graduation is almost here, hold on for a while longer." Yuki said, closing the book she is reading before she placed it back on the shelf and walked out from the library before shunpo-ing towards the empty training field.

'… _You are not trying to cut yourself to test the book you've just read, are you?'_

"I'm not going to cut anything, Kazeyomi. I don't need to bleed to test something like that." Yuki said before she lifted her hand up and bit her hand, drawing a little blood from it. Before Kazeyomi could worry about her suddenly biting herself, Yuki placed her other hand on top of the small bite wound, before her hand emitted a blue-ish glow. As her wound closed slowly, Yuki smiled in triumph at what she had done and decided that perhaps playing with her zanpakuto might not be so bad.

"See? I can do it just fine."

'_Young lady, I am not going to leave your mind alone until you explained to me what you just did to yourself!'_

"I bit myself, draw a little blood out and then I tried to heal myself. That went quite well, I didn't think I could bleed just by biting myself."

'_I am never going to leave your mind alone after this!'_

"Sure. It's fun having you around anyway."

'_Kurosaki Kuchiki Yuki!'_ Yuki then winced when Kazeyomi yelled in her mind as she shunpo-ed back into the academy and sat on the rooftop. Yuki then looked towards her vibrating bracelet and sighed.

"Kazeyomi, you're making a rattle…"

'_I told you I wouldn't leave your mind alone now, did I not?'_ Kazeyomi retord and Yuki could clearly picture her zanpakuto crossing her arms and glared at her from her mind. Her zanpakuto's red eyes piercing the layers of her mind, clearly stating that she won't back off no matter what Yuki told her.

"… Just please don't cut the flowers off."

"What flowers?" Yuki then stiffened and turned her head around to see the white-haired captain she got to know well standing on top of she roof she's on.

"Toushiro-taichou? How did you get here?"

"Do you think a captain doesn't have permission to enter the academy? I was also a graduate here if you have forgotten." Hitsugaya said, taking a seat next to the black haired girl. Both Hitsugaya and Yuki then sat in silence, looking towards the scenery they can see from the rooftop before Yuki decided to break the silence.

"How is Matsumoto-san and Momo-san, Toushiro-taichou?" Yuki decided to ask.

"Gin as been permitted to go around Soul Society as long as someone watches over him, and Matsumoto volunteered."

"And you agreed with her?"

"Matsumoto is the only one who is not afraid of him… and I hate myself to think this way, but Gin would never harm Matsumoto, no matter how annoying she is."

"Both of them have been friends for a long time after all… and Gin-san has his reasons to follow Aizen-san, and one of them is to protect Matsumoto-san. You made the right choice of letting Matsumoto-san watch Gin, Toushiro-taichou."

"I hope you're right…"

"It's alright to worry, but Matsumoto-san made her choice, didn't she? And I'm sure she wouldn't let you down. And what about Momo-san? I haven't heard much about her."

"She's finished her organ regeneration at the twelfth division and is now resting at the fourth division, she asked about you when she woke up before."

"I see… I'll be graduating soon, so I'll go and see her as soon as I can get out."

"Graduation… I thought you'd want to be in Kuchiki's division, but which division do you think you'd end up in?"

"It doesn't really matter which division, but whichever it is, I hope I'll do fine. I can't have Byaku ji-chan protect me all the time."

"And if you ended up not in the sixth?"

"I'll do the work I'm told to do, I'll work hard. If you can do it, so do I, Toushiro-taichou." Hitsugaya then noticed that the sun is starting to set and Yuki doesn't seem to be in a hurry for class.

"Were you sent out from the class again?"

"Well… yes. The teacher had me mostly sent out from class except for kido class. I guess it's alright, I can spend more time inside the library. I can't help myself anyway, Byaku ji-chan had told me to study even before I enter the academy… shouldn't you be getting back to your division, Toushiro-taichou?" Yuki said as both her and Hitsugaya stood up and jumped to the ground.

"I thought you ought to need someone to talk to."

"If you meet Karin-chan again, can you tell her I'm doing alright? And thank you, Toushiro-taichou." Hitsugaya then nodded and both of them shunpo-ed away from each other, the captain going back to his division while Yuki went back to her dorm.

'_Yuki…'_

"Yes, Kazeyomi?"

'_What do you think of that Hitsugaya boy?'_

"He's a really good person, a good friend, and Momo-san's childhood friend that she likes to tease about. But Byaku ji-chan seem to be suspicious of him, no matter what his reasons are."

'_Don't you think he's been acting strange lately? Lately he's been coming over just to talk to you.'_

"Toushiro-taichou is a person who always curt to the point. I'm sure he has his own reasons; perhaps he just wanted someone to talk to. After all, Toushiro-taichou did say Matsumoto-san is watching Gin-san and Mom-san is still in the fourth division."

'_You're right, that boy seemed pretty lonely without those two around… and he's pretty mature for someone his age.'_

"Toushiro-taichou was a genius, and he graduated from the academy within a year. That's what Ukitake-taichou told me, as well as the youngest one to ever graduate within a year. Before, Gin-san holds that record."

'_I see… for someone that age to enter the academy, he must have gone through a lot. Is that why you've been trying to talk to him more often?'_

"Well, Toushiro-taichou has always looks so lonely… and Ichi nii told me that he needed a friend, so I thought I'd get to know him better."

'_Is that your only reason, Yuki? I sense something else you're not telling me'_

"Kazeyomi, why are emotions so complicated to explain? It's not that I'm not telling you, but I don't know how."

'_I see… it's about that boy, isn't it?'_

"I think so… It's just that whenever I saw Toushiro-taichou, I wanted to help him. Or at least give him someone to talk to since he always looks so stressed out. He's always worrying about Momo-san and Matsumoto-san, they are the people he's closest to. It must have scared him to think if anything happened to them. Like last time with Momo-san…"

'_You are right. But if it's you, I'm sure you'll know the answer. And remember, I'm always here'_

"Thank you, Kazeyomi…"

'_Well, you are my mistress. I'll always be your friend, someone you can always talk to. And remember, I'm not going to leave your mind alone when there's something troubling you'_

"You felt like a mother instead of a friend, Kazeyomi." Yuki said, smiling up towards the rising moon from the window.

'_You can think of me as a mother, a friend, or a sister. As long as you don't call me grandmother'_ Yuki then laughed and shook her head, wondering how did her zanpakuto got her sense of humor.

'_Living with you and seeing through your eyes made me like this. Especially when you were with the Kurosaki'_

"Isshin ji-chan and Ichi nii-chan have always argued in the morning, after all. I hope they're doing alright… but I know they're fine, Ichi nii is there, after all."

'_Well, as long as he's alive from whatever his father gave him, I'm sure they'll be fine. Come on now, it's time for you to go to sleep'_

"Yes, yes." Back with Hitsugaya, the boy is back in his division, sitting in his office, going through some of the paperworks he had left before he went to the shinigami academy. Hitsugaya then sensed his zanpakuto calling him and closed his eyes, in a state of jinzen. Hitsugaya then open his eyes to see his zanpakuto standing tall in front of him.

'_You are worried she might went through the same treatment you did when you were in the academy, aren't you?'_ The ice dragon said to him, his voice echoing.

"She told me she is capable of protecting herself, and she doesn't seem like she's in trouble."

'_But you are still worried, I know you, child'_ Hyorinmaru said, lowering its snout so its red eyes are on the same level as Hitsugaya's.

"Can you tell me what I am felling now, Hyourinmaru?"

'_Child, I cannot tell you what it is. But there is one thing I can tell you'_

"What is it?"

'_All of this concerns your heart. Living through the years, I've seen emotions as very complicated things, but emotions are what make human humans'_

"Are you telling me that this is the love your were talking about before?"

'_There are many kinds of love in this world. Either you love her as a friend, as a sibling, or as someone very important to you. Even if you were considered as a genius, you are still a child. You will understand sooner or later'_

Hitsugaya then woke up still in his office and sighed before placing a hand on his forehead.

"It's not like I wanted to know about this either…"

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><p><strong>Tada~<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own Bleach!**

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><p><span>The Shinigami Child -11-<span>

It is finally the graduation day for Yuki. She had been in the academy for almost a year and a half, but she didn't mind not having many friends, but there were few that she came to be familiar with, and that is enough. As Yuki waits with the other graduating students for the announcement of which division the graduating students will be placed in, she leaned towards the wall behind her and stared towards the clear sky, watching the clouds go by. While nodding in greetings towards some of the students she got familiar with, she directed her eyes either at the clear blue sky or towards the walking students going back and forth.

'_I thought you'll be happier than this; you're graduating after all. And you'll get to see which division you're in.'_

"I'm happy… but I felt pretty neutral about this. I never knew what a graduation feels like."

'… _Do you miss living in the real world?'_

"Maybe, I was just thinking about what I hadn't done in the living world… I didn't even graduate from school…"

'_I see, but you are still learning are you not? Learning is a life-long process, and since you're here, you have forever'_

"Unless I got killed."

'_Now, don't think like that. You have all the time in the world to do anything you want, and I'm sure when you go to the living world, Karin and Yuzu will be glad to let you see their school notes'_

"I'm getting behind on lots of things…"

'_You'll be surprised when you know more then they do, you're getting smarter everyday. Just relax, you are learning from the books, and I don't know how Ukitake-taichou got those school books and children books from the living world'_

"It's interesting going through the library in the thirteenth division though." Both Yuki and Kazeyomi then kept on conversing with one another before Yuki noticed that the graduating students seemed to be going in the same direction in a crowd of murmurs and excitement. Yuki thought that perhaps the announcement of the division placement is already given and went over with the crowd to see it herself.

'_I thought you said you're pretty neutral about this'_ Yuki heard her zanpakuto tease her for her sudden excitement. Yuki then shushed Kazeyomi in her head while trying to hide the blush on the face before going through the crowd of students who is gathering around to see the announcement paper.

'_I wonder why Byakuya-sama put you in as Kuchiki Yuki when your birth certificate clearly says Kurosaki Yuki on it'_

"Remember, birth certificate doesn't work here in Soul Society. And now I live as a Kuchiki anyway. Where's my name…" Yuki whispered to herself, frantically looking at the list of paper in front of her.

'_This is the eleventh and twelfth division, if you haven't notice the symbol on top'_ Yuki then looked towards the top of the list and blushed bright red before scurrying over to the next one while trying to tone Kazeyomi's laugh down in her head. When Yuki got to the sixth division list, Yuki scanned through the name and was confused.

"My name is not in the sixth division list…?"

'_Maybe you should try another division; after all, there is a possibility which you might be placed in other division. I don't think the captains have any say on who is in who's division until they meet the students in the recruitment test in their own divisions…'_ Yuki nodded and kept on scanning the list beginning from the second, third and then on and on until she sighed in relieve when she finally found her name on the list. Yuki looked up towards the top to see which division and her eyes widened for a second before narrowing.

"… the tenth division…? Kazeyomi, my name is under the tenth division."

'… _I don't know what to say…' _Yuki is confused, what would her uncle say if she's actually accepted in the tenth division.

'_Well, you have to face it, Yuki. After all, you did tell Hitsugaya boy that it won't be a matter whichever division you're in'_

"You're right, let's just see how everything goes…"

'_That's the spirit!'_ Yuki then smiled when she felt a hand patting her head and knew her zanpakuto is smiling in her mind. After the graduation ceremony, the students were sent off to their own homes to prepare for tomorrow's recruitment test in the divisions they were placed in. When Yuki had entered the Kuchiki manor, she was quickly surprised to see Renji running about in the manor.

"Renji nii? Is that you?" When the red-haired vice-captain saw Yuki staring at him, he quickly sighed in relief and ran towards Yuki before picking the girl up, not caring if the girl suddenly yelped and kept on carrying the girl towards the room she knew as her uncle's. When they got nearer to the room, she felt her uncle's tremendous reiatsu flowing out from the room and frowned. This doesn't seem right, her uncle would never let his reiatsu flow out dangerously like this, if this keeps up, any shinigami who couldn't held off the pressure could be killed easily.

"Renji nii, what's wrong with Byaku ji-chan? Is he angry at something?" Renji then placed Yuki down on the floor and knelt down so he's staring into her eyes.

"Listen, Yuki. I know this is dangerous, but I need you to go inside and talk to taichou about this. I wanted to say congratulations to you for graduating, but this is important, the maids had already enough trouble going around the manor like this." Yuki hesitantly nod at Renji although she doesn't understand the reason why her uncle felt so angry like this. Renji then turned towards the sliding door and then back towards Yuki.

"It's like this… the academy already announced the placement list, right? And you know which division you're in, right?" Yuki nodded at Renji's questions and instantly understood why her uncle seemed to be in such a bad mood today. It was actually because of her placement in the tenth division!

'… _This certainly is important…'_ Kazeyomi said in her head and Yuki quickly hushed her, before turning towards Renji who raised an eyebrow at her sudden action. Yuki then lifted her hand, which has her zanpakuto, and Renji nodded.

"I know Kazeyomi thinks that this is silly, but I've never seen taichou this angry before…"

"Byaku ji-chan seemed to be suspicious about Toushiro-taichou about something…" Renji then narrowed his eyes when Yuki called the tenth division captain by his first name and decided to take the jump.

"When did you start calling Hitsugaya-taichou by his first name?"

"He told me I could when we were fighting the third espada… and I think ever since I woke up from the fourth division, Byaku ji-chan has been glaring at lot at Toushiro-taichou." Renji got the point and sighed, thinking that his taichou does certainly have some 'Daughter Complex' issues, as Ichigo would put it. He doesn't really blame his taichou for being overprotective of the girl since whenever you saw Yuki smiling you'd think that you have to protect that smile; but really, until this far? But then again, Matsumoto has been smiling a lot ever since she heard Yuki calling her captain by his first name. Renji had thought that Matsumoto has been smiling a lot lately because she has been able to see Gin more often, but he should guess again.

"So this is why Matsumoto's been smiling a lot lately…" Renji said to himself before turning towards Yuki who kept on staring at the Kuchiki family head's door.

"I think you should go inside, taichou's probably going to calm down when he sees you." Yuki then turned back to Renji and nodded before quietly slid the door opening, letting out a small '_Ji-chan, I'm back_' and Renji was right, Byakuya's reiatsu pressure quickly went down at the sight of his niece. To think that the captain of the 8th and the 13th division would come to his division just to take his captain out cold before bringing him back to the Kuchiki manor. Renji then decided that he should go back to the division since his job here is done, hoping that Yuki would be able to calm his captain down so the division members wouldn't be crashed down to the floor from the spiritual pressure like earlier.

"Oji-chan, are you alright?" Yuki said, sighing in relief when she felt her uncle's reiatsu pressure slowly lessened and went back to normal. Yuki sat at the side of the room, watching her uncle's expression seemed less irritated ever since she entered his room and went closer to the sixth division's captain when the man had motioned her to come closer. Yuki then let Byakuya wrap his arms around her and in return, she also wrapped her arms around him, snuggling closer at the warmth she'd missed.

"Oji-chan, did you know? I got placed in Toushiro-taichou's division." Yuki felt Byakuya's spiritual pressure almost blasted off through the roof and concluded that her uncle did know.

"When everyone was gathering around at the list, Kazeyomi laughed at me when I look for my name under the eleventh and twelfth division." Yuki heard Kazeyomi's laughed in her head and she looked down towards her bracelet before back at Byakuya who noticed his niece looking at her bracelet.

"She's laughing at me again." Byakuya's eyes then softened and Yuki continued telling Byakuya about what happened earlier.

"Then I looked under yours and I didn't find my name. It was weird, but Kazeyomi told me to look under the other divisions and I found my name under Toushiro-taichou's. After the ceremony I went home and Renji nii was here, and he said your reiatsu almost squished the maids, you can't do that, ji-chan!" Byakuya's mouth then twitched up in a small smile and placed his hand on Yuki's head.

"Tomorrow's the recruitment test, you won't have to worry about me not in your division, ji-chan! I'll do my best and I'll make you and Rukia nee proud of me!" Yuki then lifted her head towards the door and it slid open, revealing the missing Kuchiki member who quickly went over to the girl and grabbed her out from Byakuya's hold into her own.

"Yuki! You're back!" Rukia said, nuzzling her face with Yuki's, making the younger girl pout in annoyance at the show of affection.

"I'm back, Rukia nee. Can you let go of me now? I was telling Byaku ji-chan about my placement in Toushiro-taichou's division." Rukia quickly pulled back in shock before turning towards her adoptive brother/brother-in-law.

"You were placed in Hitsugaya-taichou's division? I thought you would be placed in nii-sama's…"

"Kazeyomi told me that the captains might not have a say in the placement list, so I guess I'm going to see Toushiro-taichou in his division tomorrow with other people from the academy." Yuki saw Rukia's troubled face and she smiled at the older woman, who kept on looking worriedly at her.

"Don't worry about me, Rukia nee! I'll do my best and make sure I got accepted without your or Byaku ji-chan helping me, I'll make you proud!" Rukia's eyes then watered dramatically and she crushed Yuki in her embrace, making the smaller girl's protest muffled behind Rukia's shihakushou. When Yuki realized that Rukia was not to let go of her soon, she relaxed into Rukia's arm and decided to hold onto Rukia's back.

'_I want this to last forever…'_

* * *

><p><strong>...To be Continued<strong>

**... To be continued**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 *drum rolls***

**I do not own Bleach!**

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><p><span>The Shinigami Child -12-<span>

When Yuki had opened her eyes to the following day, she took a breath of the fresh air and smiled, today is going to be a good day, she thought as she turned towards the light shining out from her door. Yuki then stood up and slid the door open and welcomed the morning breeze with open arms before spotting Rukia walking through the corridor.

"Rukia nee, good morning! Are you going to the bath?" At Rukia's nod, Yuki's smiled widened and she quickly told Rukia to wait for a moment before walking out with her set of shihakushou, which was quickly brought away by a maid who spotted her carrying her own shihakushou. When Rukia noticed the skip on Yuki's steps she smiled amusedly towards the smiling Yuki, who didn't even notice Rukia's smile in the midst of her excitement.

"So today is your test, isn't it?"

"Is it the same as a recruitment test? To see if you are fit to enter the division?"

"The teachers in the academy are the ones who choose to see if you are fit enough to enter the Gotei 13, if you are still not ready, you wouldn't have graduated. Your test today is to see what rank you are in that division. If you are good enough, you might even become a 3rd seat, but remember, you can either raise higher in rank, or fall lower if you don't work hard enough." Yuki nodded in understanding at Rukia's explanation, but she couldn't help the excitement in her face and steps.

"I'll work hard just like Rukia nee and Byaku ji-chan. I'll try my best and get a good rank so I'll be useful!"

"That's the spirit! Now let's get into the baths." Rukia said as she opened the door to the baths. Yuki then saw Byakuya getting out from his room and waved at him before quickly slipping into the baths as Byakuya shook his head as his niece's excitement, yet he couldn't help but feel distasteful about his young niece in _**that boy**_'s division. He knew he had to keep his words to his niece about letting choose on her own, but it doesn't mean he can't keep an eye on her every time. He would have to talk to Renji about this, not caring if his vice-captain already knew of his protectiveness tendency towards his niece.

As Yuki walks inside the Gotei 13, now out from her academy uniforms and back in her shihakushou she passes over and greeted some of the shinigami before slipping into the tenth division together with other graduates to wait for their own turn to be called inside the division training hall. Yuki then turned towards her bracelet, asking to herself if she should just put Kazeyomi in her sword form already or put it off until later. Her zanpakuto's sealed form is rather strange to other shinigami, because she can either change it into a katana, or wear it as a bracelet like she usually does.

'_It's your own choice, but I think it's better to change me into a katana later so you can surprise whoever it is inside there'_

"It wouldn't be a surprise to both Matsumoto-san and Toushiro-taichou."

'_True, but it's fun to see what others think about me when I'm still a bracelet'_

"You have your own katana form, but this form is easier to carry around…" Yuki said, looking at the elated shinigami academy graduate who had just walked out from the division hall as another enters. Yuki then realized that the waiting shinigami are lessening and wonders if she will be the last in turn to enter, Yuki noticed some shinigami who had came out from the hall glanced at her before turning away, smiling a smile she doesn't understood, but they made her lower her eyes to the ground. Yuki doesn't understand why she felt afraid of those smiles and the way their eyes looked at her, but as she closed her eyes and imagine Rukia and Byakuya's expectations of her, she fisted her hands and took a deep breath before lifting her head up again, eyes now blazing with determination, surprising those who had previously given her mocking smiles.

Yuki watch from the corner of her eyes as the shinigami who had given her looks turned and walked away from her before she let the breath she was holding out as the last shinigami walked out from the hall. One of the tenth division officers Yuki had seen before then walked out from the room and called her name. As Yuki stood, making herself known to the officer, the man narrowed his eyes at her before his eyes widened before looking back to the paper in his hand.

"Kuchiki Yuki-san?" When Yuki nodded, the man beckoned her to come inside the hall and quickly announced her presence before slipping out from the hall, making Yuki turn around in confusion.

"Kuchiki Yuki. Today you will show your abilities and will be judged whether you are worthy of receiving a rank in the division or not, so you need to stay focused." Hitsugaya said as Matsumoto clapped her hands in excitement before Hitsugaya's sharp glare made her sink into her seat. Yuki then noticed Hitsugaya's smirk and replied it with her own small smile, her eyes still held the determination and excitement she previously had.

"Yes, Hitsugaya-taichou." Hitsugaya's smirked then widened as Yuki's hand hover over her bracelet before a katana appeared in her hand and she swiped it to the side, making a gust of wind appeared in the hall.

"What do you have to say about your zanpakuto, Yuki-chan?" Matsumoto said, resting her chin on her hands after she had placed her hair back down after the sudden gust of wind.

"Her name is Kazeyomi, she is a wind zanpakuto. Her sealed form is this katana I am holding now, but I can changed it into a bracelet when I'm not using it. And I usually converse with Kazeyomi in my mind, or whenever I sleep at times I needed to talk to her in person." Hitsugaya nodded as Matsumoto looked interested at how Yuki would converse with her zanpakuto on a daily basis.

"Don't you need to do jinzen when you wanted to talk to your zanpakuto?"

'_Tell her I decided to inhabit your mind and bug you everyday'_

"Kazeyomi told me she wanted to inhabit my mind so she can bug me everyday. But she's been helping me a lot whenever I needed some thinking. And she told me about what I needed to know so I wouldn't be dazed about what's going on."

"Kazeyomi seemed like a nice girl, I wish my Haineko could at least be more responsible."

"Matsumoto, we are not here to small talk, we are having a ranking examination to do."

"But taichou! You're the one who told me we should put Yuki to last! I thought you mean we'll be able to chat!" Hitsugaya then glared at the grinning Matsumoto as Yuki could only smile at Hitsugaya in sympathy.

'_This Matsumoto seemed pretty happy to tease her own captain, must be because he's younger than her. Or because she just wanted him to act like his age'_

"_Matsumoto-san is just acting like herself."_ Yuki said in her head. Hitsugaya then gave Matsumoto a last glare before turning back towards Yuki who had somehow decided to play with her katana, either turning it around or swinging it. When Yuki noticed Hitsugaya's eyes on her, she straightened back up and tried to put on a straight face even though her lips were already twitching upward in a smile. While Matsumoto then turned back to Yuki with interest, Hitsugaya chose to place a hand on his forehead, groaning at his vice-captain's behaviour.

"If you have achieved shikai, please show us."

'_He sure is a robot when it's an official matter'_

"_Kazeyomi, this is not the time to joke around…"_ Hitsugaya noticed Yuki's eyes narrowing to her zanpakuto and couldn't help but let out a small smile and a sigh before nodding to Yuki.

"Lend me your power, show me the way, Kazeyomi!" Yuki said as a burst of wind erupted from her sword, as black ribbons came out from her sleeves before wrapping around the skin from her feet and up to her mouth. Yuki then opened her eyes and Matsumoto silently gasped when she saw that the previously sparkling grey eyes turned red.

"This is the first time I've seen your shikai up close, Yuki-chan. But the wind kept on messing with my hair!" Matsumoto said when she realized that the wind had once again blown her hair to the side.

"I'm sorry Matsumoto-san…"

"Don't worry, it's alright, Yuki-chan! But I wonder, why are you covering your mouth and nose? It's not for fashion is it?" Matsumoto asked, before sinking to her seat when Hitsugaya decided to reprimand her for asking silly questions.

"It's because my lungs are still recovering and since Kazeyomi controls wind and the pressure could stress my body, this will keep my breathing stay normal and avoid any damage to my body." Hitsugaya then nodded in understanding, since he's heard Yuki told him this before and stayed quiet.

"How about your eyes Yuki? They turned red."

"Kazeyomi's eyes are red, and when I'm in my shikai form, my eyes will turn red. And this is also for protection.

"So you mean you're protected from your own wind from top to bottom?" Yuki then nodded and Matsumoto let out an 'ooh' before going back to the paper in her hand.

"How about your bankai?" Hitsugaya suddenly said, startling both Matsumoto and Yuki as the latter had to thought about what the tenth division captain had said.

"I can do bankai, but I still can't hold out for too long because I've never really use it before. Last time I collapse out of exhaustion because I forced myself in bankai for too long."

'_Why don't you give it a try? Last time you did well, I'm sure this time it'll go well. After all, it's just for show right? You're not going to fight, just relax, I'll do what I can from here'_

"Can you show us for a bit, Yuki? It won't take long." Matsumoto said when she saw the hesitation in Yuki's eyes as the girl looked towards her sword before slowly nodding.

"Blow the enemies away, ride the win, bankai." Yuki whispered as another gust of wind came out from her sword. Yuki's black hair then grew longer and was tied back by the same ribbon her that is covering her body and she started to levitate off the ground. Her blade had widened a few inches on the top and now her previously empty hand now held a black fan with white lining in it. When Matsumoto started clapping Yuki lowered her head before taking a deep breath and lifted it up again.

"What does your bankai do, Yuki-chan?"

"I still don't know much, Matsumoto-san. But now I can shunpo-ed faster with the help of the wind, and I can stand on the air without having to use reiatsu."

"That's pretty useful… but that fan is just cute on you, don't you think so taichou?" Matsumoto said as Hitsugaya choked on his tea before glaring at Matsumoto who started to giggle.

"I still don't know what it could do, Kazeyomi told me to try it on my own and I haven't had enough training yet." Yuki said as she stepped back on the ground and letting her bankai dissipate before wobbling to the side and tried to keep standing up, despite some of her reiatsu disappeared after using her shikai and bankai.

"Alright then, that is enough. Thank you, Yuki. You may go." Yuki then nodded and bowed, turning away from both Hitsugaya and Matsumoto before walking out from the hall. When she stepped outside, she let out a big sigh before turning towards her zanpakuto who had changed back into its bracelet form.

'_Don't worry, Hitsugaya boy must be blind if he doesn't give you at least a high rank'_

"You won't know what could happen, Kazeyomi. Let's go home, I'm tired. Maybe we should train for bankai tomorrow…"

'_You've just had a big day; you should rest while you can. The Kuchiki manor is much better than the fourth division anyway'_

"I wonder if Byaku ji-chan is still in a bad mood…"

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><p><strong>One more chapter to go!<strong>

**Go go go!**


	13. Chapter 13

The Shinigami Child -13-

After the ranking test, Yuki had gone to the sixth division and was welcomed back by the shinigami that are working there. Some had congratulated her on graduating from the academy while some were voicing their surprise at how she was actually placed in the tenth division rather than the sixth with her uncle. Yuki smiled at the genuine care everyone was showing her and reassured them that she'll be fine and she'll try to visit the sixth division whenever she could. After she smiled at the whispering shinigami, some the nodded and proceeded to ask how the ranking test went and Yuki was about to open her mouth to tell, but then she felt her uncle reiatsu and there he is, right behind her and now staring at the gathering shinigami around her.

As Byakuya watch the shinigami that was surrounding his niece disperse and went back to their work, some of them were disappointed for not being able to hear the young girl's story about the ranking test. Byakuya then lowered his eyes and met with his niece's tired but sparkling ones, clearly anticipating Byakuya to say something to her. Byakuya gave his niece a small smile and uncharacteristically carried the small girl in his arms as Yuki happily wrap her arms around Byakuya's neck, giving him a loving hug. Byakuya stared coldly towards the working shinigami who had stopped their work to look at the pair of uncle and niece and those shinigami quickly went back to work, afraid of the wrath their captain had unleashed the day before that almost squished them to the ground.

"I did it, oji-chan! I didn't have any problem with the test, I did what Toushiro-taichou and Matsumoto-san told me to do and I did my shikai well. Then Toushiro-taichou told me to show him my bankai, I wasn't sure about doing bankai, but Kazeyomi told me to try it, since we don't have to show it for long. And I did it! I felt a bit tired after that though, did you know that I was the last one that was questioned? Matsumoto-san told me that Toushiro-taichou told her to put me last, I don't know if she was telling the truth or not…" Letting his niece talk, Byakuya told Renji to handle the rest as he is about to bring Yuki back to the manor so she could rest properly. Renji, who noticed Yuki kept on talking about her day nodded to Byakuya and watch as his captain shunpo-ed away, bringing his niece with him in his arms.

Renji then let out a big sigh and turn towards the busy sixth division; he isn't really surprised about his captain able to finish his paperwork. But what amazes him is that even though he's been going back to the manor earlier in order to put Yuki to rest, he's been able to finish it as if it's nothing. Perhaps it comes with practice… and age, he thought before yelling at some shinigami who were lazying around. Renji is curious about the result of Yuki's ranking test though, no doubt the girl would got a high rank as she is now, but the rank will only be decided by Hitsugaya, Matsumoto and some of the shinigami working there.

Renji had no doubt that Matsumoto would give Yuki a high rank, but he's still a bit unsure about the youngest captain's line of thoughts. Heck, he wasn't even sure if Matsumoto's theory about her captain liking his captain's niece is true or not. All he knew is that both of them are quite close even if Hitsugaya doesn't act like it at all. But knowing Yuki, she could be close to anyone who let her become his or her friends. Renji then let out a frustrated groan as he scratched the back of his head, thinking about his captain's niece is always giving him headaches. She could be a bundle or energy, and before he knew it, she can be a very sensitive person. He had a hunch it might be because of her natural ability to read people, and not to mention now since her zanpakuto's element is wind, she is able to read people by the air surrounding them, no doubt it made the girl even more sensitive than before, especially since she's still very young compared to all of them.

"Abarai-fukutaichou, about this paperwork…" Those thought could wait, right now he has work to do, Renji thought as he turned towards the shinigami who called him previously.

"Byaku ji-chan, why can't I stay up late today?" Yuki had become a bit uncharacteristically whiny somehow tonight, but Byakuya brushed that thought aside as he tucked his niece into her futon. He knew everyone would be surprised at how he is acting now, but this is his niece that might as well as his own daughter since her similarities with him in looks are very apparent.

"Taking proper rests are important. It would be useless to train without giving your body proper rest. Rest now, you have had a hard day today." Yuki then give Byakuya a pout before nodding and Yuki then smiled when Byakuya brushed his hand in her hair. Yuki's eyelids then slowly drop as the girl started to drift off into slumber with Byakuya's hand still brushing Yuki's hair. Byakuya then watch as Yuki's breath and reiatsu stabilized and pulled his hand back, now looking at Yuki's sleeping face, thinking once again about her similarities with her mother.

'_Miyuki… what would you do if you were alive…'_

The day after, Yuki woke up to find both Rukia and Byakuya already left to their divisions and quickly get dressed before shunpo-ing towards the tenth division. As she arrived at the division, she was confused about where to go before she felt someone behind her and jumped away, turning around to see that it was only Matsumoto, who was about to give her a hug from behind. Yuki silently felt glad she had dodged or else she would be squished to death on her first day, and that's not funny.

'_It would be for me'_ Yuki then glared at her bracelet when she could clearly hear Kazeyomi's laughter ringing in her head. Yuki then turned back towards the smiling Matsumoto and took a step backward for precaution.

"Is something the matter, Matsumoto-san?" The woman in front of her kept on humming and smiling at her, which made Yuki took another step backward and bumped into someone. Yuki quickly turn around and apologized, only to find herself face to face with her new captain, Hitsugaya Toushiro. When Hitsugaya was about to open his mouth and ask about what happened Matsumoto quickly grab a hold onto the girl in front of him and squished the life out of her.

"Congratulations on getting the third seat, Yuki-chan! And welcome to the tenth division!" Yuki would be shocked about what Matsumoto had just said only if she were not being choked right now.

"_Kazeyomi… I can't… lungs…"_

'_Hang in there, Yuki!'_ When the bracelet around Yuki's wrist startled to rattle, Hitsugaya noticed the small trinket's movement and quickly told Matsumoto to let go of the girl.

"Do you want to kill her before she even got to know anything?" Yuki then took big gasps of air when she was finally released from Matsumoto's killer hug and bowed gratefully to Hitsugaya.

"Thank you, Toushiro-taichou." Yuki wheezed as she gripped her chest while wincing at the pain, hoping something didn't happen to her lungs from the sudden hug. When the busty vice-captain noticed Yuki holding onto her chest and seemed to be in pain, she panicked.

"Yuki-chan, are you alright? I'm sorry, did it hurt?" Yuki then give Matsumoto a reassuring smile as she straightened herself up.

"I'll be fine, Matsumoto-san, it's nothing big." Yuki said, patting her chest to show the orange-haired vice-captain that there's nothing wrong with her. Even though Matsumoto weren't that convinced, but she let it go. And after remembering what she was so happy about when she saw the young girl, Matsumoto opted to grab Yuki's hand.

"You got the third seat, Yuki-chan! Isn't that great?" Yuki then blinked, having forgotten what Matsumoto had just said prior to her life and death experience. And when Hitsugaya nodded in confirmation after she had unconsciously turned to him, a big childish smile then blossomed on Yuki's face, making the young girl's face sparkle while the vice-captain in front of her cooed at the girl's happy smile.

"From now on, you'll work here with me and taichou! I hope you're good with paperwork." Matsumoto said as Yuki nodded.

"I've been helping Renji nii with his paperwork, I think I'll do just fine." Matsumoto then clapped her hand gleefully as Hitsugaya glared at Matsumoto, knowing that his vice-captain just wanted to give the girl excess paperwork.

"Matsumoto!"

"Aww, taichou, don't be such a party pooper. I won't give Yuki-chan that many of my paperwork, I know you'll want to talk to her often." Matsumoto teased, making some of the division's shinigami giggle while some stared amusedly at their fuming and red-faced captain.

"MATSUMOTO!"

"Oji-chan! Byaku ji-chan!" Yuki said as she ran inside the sixth division after she had been excused from the tenth division. Yuki ran and ran, avoiding some of the walking shinigami while apologizing to the shinigami she had bumped into. The shinigami that had seen the girl running were confused as to what had the girl running for her uncle in the first place while some just shake their heads with a smile before continuing their work. When Yuki entered the captain and vice-captain's office with a dash, two pair of eyes quickly went over to her before she leapt towards her uncle. Byakuya looked towards his arms where his niece is currently looking up at him with a pair of sparkling eyes.

"Oji-chan, I got third seat! I did it!" Byakuya's eyes widened for a second before he gave Yuki a pat on her head and the girl relished at the touch. Yuki then let go of Byakuya and jumped towards his vice-captain to give him a kick and sat on the groaning vice-captain's back.

"Renji nii, I got third seat! I did it!"

"Congratulations, Yuki… but can you get off? You're hurting my back…" Yuki then reluctantly stood up, letting Renji straighten his back out before she gave him a hug as the other sighed and returned her hug. Yuki skipped back to the now standing Byakuya and held onto his arm.

"So starting tomorrow I'll work in hard with Toushiro-taichou and Matsumoto-san." Renji's eyes then widened and he hid behind his desk, avoiding the sudden burst of Byakuya's reiatsu to the top of their division's roof.

"Oh man…"


End file.
